Farmers said they were not able to cultivate their fields as this haphazard dumping of mud not only affected the cultivation but also the irrigation system of the paddy fields.

Many farmers complained that they were unable to cultivate during the last two seasons due to this problem. Farmer G. V. M Perera said the mud had blocked the canals and the area had gone under water as a result.

“Then they started dumping the garbage into our lands, and now we can’t use a part of our land,” he said. Perera said about 200 acres of land would not be cultivable if the government did not take necessary measures to resolve the problem.

The land where the public toilets are located are filled with mud too, they pointed out.

“If the government wants to acquire these lands then they should discuss with us,” Perera said.

Former Maharagama Municipal Councillor, Bandu Jayasinghe commenting on the issue said that only a few department heads of several authorities knew about these development plans and no-one else knew about them. “When we drew up plans in the past, we spoke to all sections concerned and ensured that no one would be harmed with the decisions we had made, but today exactly the opposite of that happens,” he said.

Meanwhile, residents in the area said they had spoken to the relevant authorities but no redress had been give to them. They also pointed out that the land acquired to build a new bus stand under Maharagama town development plan still remained empty.

Farmers said the adjoining land which was also acquired for this development project had been sold to private parties where they have already built residential apartments.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka