Drinking Water in and around Ekala Industrial Zone

The ground water is heavily polluted with poisonous chemicals discharged by the factories. As a result, the wells in the home yards which are their normal source of water, which have been used by them since they first settled down in the area about 30-40 years ago, can not be used any longer. The tube wells constructed more recently as sources of drinking water are also been found polluted. The natural sprouts and streams from which people drew water a few decades ago have disappeared.

About 15 communities in and around the industrial zone at Ekala have been deprived of safe water for drinking or any other domestic purposes such as washing and bathing. The number of people immediately affected is around 50,000. But, it is indirectly affecting many more people when taken into account those people living along the canals and the lagoon. For a example the fishermen are complaining that the fish breeding grounds too are affected due to effluents discharged by the factories.

The source of water supply for a Housing Complex which consists of 2000 houses, is a river situated in close proximity. According to its residents this river is heavily polluted particularly by two factories in its close vicinity. Although the authorities have been informed on several occasions no action has been to prevent the river from being polluted. The inaction on the part of the authorities put the lives of about 2000 families in danger. In another location, people complain that the water they get from their tube wells are of various colours due to the effluents discharged by a paint factory located in its neighbourhood. People in another community complain that their water has a strong ordour and a colour and gives a very bad taste. The water from their wells cannot be used either for cooking meals or prepare tea or drink to quench their thirst.

Manawa Himikum Piyasa make the communities aware of the gravity and the human right aspect of the issue and motivate them to organize themselves at their monthly meetings and to take simple actions such as writing a petition to the local authorities and whenever possible to go on delegation to lobby with the authority. Since last year, the affected communities were brought under an umbrella organization called ‘The Alliance for Protection of Natural Resources and Human Rights’.

As a result of a decision taken at one of those meetings a group of representatives met the Central Environmental Authority in Colombo and made a request to call a meeting on this matter. ‘The Alliance for Protection of Natural Resources and Human Rights’ coordinates the work of lobbying with the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and the Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority.