Blomendhal’s Evil Smog
By Amantha Perera
It is an evil mist that rises over Blomendhal. Every morning it hangs low, moving slowly over the small man made hillocks that ooze out their contents from the side — festered wounds that will never heal. The dumping here had stopped, about a year back due to a court decision. That, however has not reduced the stench. So much has been dumped here, that it will take years for the mounds to disappear. The garbage dumps of Blomendhal are legendary. They have spread like gigantic carnivorous worms.
There is a kind of an order here, unlike the chaos outside. Human life continues around these mounds. Main roads circle around them, if you strain your eye, you can see the peaks over the buildings and the warehouses that hold bulk tea shipments near the road. On rainy days, the stench will spread, but those who live around them are used to it. Some would not part with mounds of garbage as they have become a goldmine to enterprising scavengers. Such are the returns, that there are gangs that control the trade.
No one really knows what was dumped here. Almost everything it seems. That was the case for years till the garbage trucks stopped coming. The older piles lie on top of the newer arrivals and they smoother and fester together. What mixes in the insides of the hills is nasty. There are fires that burn for days from within their bellies, with smoke clouds swirling slowly. When the weather turns cooler and it begins to rain, dark brown streams streak from them. No one has a clear idea of what they cough out.
The polluted air is breathed in without a fuss, and as the gooey discharge makes its way to the Keera Kotuwa nearby, the keera is eaten by those who have no idea where it comes from. But then again life is ‘normal’ around the garbage mounds. Kids play cricket in between them, some of the fielders are placed on the slopes, and the boundary line is the closest mound. Others walk between them on their way to school or tuition. There is nothing unusual about them if you can etch out the ghostly smog that hangs about. Children appear laughing and screaming from the smog, like children anywhere. There is the occasional cough, but hardly anyone notices.
No one notices the stink that will curl any outsider’s nose. It is easy to recognise outsiders or newcomers here, their noses give it away. Their faces shrink in revulsion while the initiated get about life as if they had no cares. Blomendhal’s garbage piles are here to stay. They were there a decade ago and will be there in the future unless some super human effort is made to clean up. They have become a part of Colombo life, tucked away, but everyone knows they are there.
We just don’t want it advertised as an attraction. May be it is better to live with the smog and the foul smell, ever more so if the dirty pile makes money. Why bother to curl your nose, if the money is good.
it is a serious health hazard this is seeping into our water system
what a crime
I just heard that there will be a project to turn this garbage dump in to energy. I know it was happening but now with a new environment minister, hope it will continue…
The same garbage minister under whom all these garbage has mounted is now in charge of energy. Very soon we will have mounting power blackouts.
Wake up to the smell of garbage instead of coffee.
yes their are many ‘projects’ after all Silly Lanka has gold thanks to the ministers early morning deposits in the bank, oil made out of urine, diamonds made out of plastic to fund these projects….
Why is Blomendhal singled out as a health hazard ? People bathe, wash clothes, bathe animals, wash utensils , wash vehicles and their anus in the nations reservoirs – and this is the water people drink !!! This is Sri Lanka — ENJOY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can anyone tell me if there is a garbage mound somewhere in Maharagama or Boralesgamuwa areas? I live on the 4th floor of an apartment building in Ratmalana. Everyday in the evening after sun goes down we get a foul smell with the wind coming from inland. We have no idea where it comes from but we suspect that there is a garbage collection site somewhere close to Ratmalana. If the air gets polluted due to garbage mounds it’s a real health hazard to the people living in nearby towns as well.
no that;s mervyn farting after a good thosai…
Animal Modapala De Silva will fix this problem just as he fixed the hospital problem. don’t worry be happy, we’ve got our Animal with Tharahapal Sirisena closely following him. Gobba Senevirathne is another to watch
It was too early to test the mettle of evanescent minister as he has already bolted form the scene.His so called intellectual capabilities would have being tested on a operational platform, if he was given the mental again to rectify all these.He would still had the chance to go around his bicycle to hoodwink his illeterate,nationalist voter bank to say all these are due capitalistic influences!Good for those ardent voters to smell the true things to come in the future as this only the beginning!You cannot expect to smell channel -5 when you feed garbage to the system!!Enjoy my fellow comrades!This is the true smell of the things to come!!!ha ha ha ha…………
Environment Ministry: Garbage out – Garbage in nothing changes. Managing gargbage is not rocket science but there is science involved. Too much for our politicians. Maybe they can go study how other countries in the west handle this problem. But I suspect they already have. But need to keep learning over and over again. This way they can continue to go on foreighn junckets and pretend to solve the problem. Sri Lanka is a nation where its people deserve it’s politicians and every problem gets worse.