National lesson from Kandy's environmental crisis

THE 2025 Dalada Exhibition in Kandy should have been a moment of national pride and spiritual reflection. Instead, this sacred cultural celebration became a stark illustration of our collective civic failure.

- Rohitha Amarapala

Historic streets lay buried under discarded food containers, sacred spaces were defiled by plastic waste, and the ancient city that houses our most revered relic—the Sacred Tooth of Buddha—was transformed into a cautionary tale that reverberated across the nation.

What was meant to honour our heritage instead held up a mirror to our deteriorating public discipline. Rather than allowing this moment to fade from memory or devolve into partisan finger-pointing, we must recognise it as a crucial catalyst for national renewal.

The aftermath of the celebration painted a disturbing picture. National media documented scenes that should trouble every Sri Lankan: heritage sites surrounded by mountains of plastic waste, waterways choked with debris, and vendor stalls abandoned without proper cleanup. This environmental negligence stemmed from multiple failures: visitors discarding waste with apparent indifference to their surroundings, vendors prioritising convenience over responsibility with minimal waste management, local authorities implementing insufficient preventive measures and enforcement, and a pervasive absence of accountability across all participants.

This wasn't merely an organisational oversight or logistical challenge. It represents a profound erosion of the values that once defined Sri Lankan society—respect, responsibility, and reverence for both our heritage and natural environment.

A symptom of deeper issues

The Kandy incident is merely a symptom of a deeper malady affecting our nation. The true problem isn't infrastructural but spiritual and cultural—a gradual displacement of civic consciousness by collective apathy. This transformation didn't happen overnight; it represents decades of neglecting character formation in our youngest citizens.