KANDY TOWN SHIVERS

AT THE SOUND OF A DOWNPOUR

- By Shane Seneviratne

The people in Kandy town who have been facing a health hazard created by a dumping ground collapse have been further burdened with a severe flood threat.

Before the floods arrived, the people of the main town in the Central Hills were forced to put up with the nauseating smell caused by the collapse of the Guhagoda dumping ground. As a result the Kandy people were breathing polluted air.

Critics are of the opinion that the politicians who ruled the country since long and the corrupt government officials who allowed the implementation of ill planned projects, are responsible for the predicament of the hill country people.

Adding to the dilemma faced by Kandy folk are the human activities that caused extensive environmental damage.

Kandy city is susceptible to inundation in case of a rainfall that lasts just one hour. That rainfall can be calculated as a minimum 100mm. Some of the unfortunate places to be affected by such a downpour are the Kandy Railway Station, the low lying area of Mahaiyawa tunnel and William Gopallawa Mawatha.