A breath of Kandy on the road

EVERY morning, I watch Kandy wake up — and cough. The horns, the fumes, the endless line of vehicles crawling through our small city. As someone who has lived here all my life, I no longer remember what clean air smells like. I've sat countless times behind a bus blocking an entire lane, waiting while it collects passengers in the middle of the road, only to be rewarded with a thick black cloud of exhaust when it finally moves.

- By Adithya Ekanayake

Kandy is beautiful. But beneath that beauty, it’s suffocating — literally.

My field survey of 100 people showed what we all already know: 95% believe that vehicle emissions are the main cause of Kandy’s air pollution. More than half said the problem is serious; nearly one-third said it’s extremely severe. Over 60% said they suffer from breathing problems that they link directly to the air they breathe here.

That’s not surprising. The narrow roads of our hill city were never built for the 100,000+ vehicles that now flood in every day. According to Prof. Ileperuma, who has studied air quality in Kandy for decades, our city’s air is often worse than Colombo’s — trapped by the surrounding mountains and poisoned by rising vehicle numbers and daily congestion.

And it’s not just theory. During my observations, for the research and just by living here and going to school here, I saw broken pavements near major schools, forcing students to walk on the road. I, too, have been one of them. I remember having to walk along the road to avoid falling into pits nearly five feet deep, where concrete slabs had collapsed over open drains. I became one more body clogging traffic because the sidewalk — meant for me — was impassable.

Sri Lanka is not without laws. The National Environmental Act No. 47 of 1980 gives the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) the power to control pollution and advise the central government and local authorities. Under sections 10 and 12, the CEA can investigate environmental harm and take corrective action. Vehicle emission standards — in force since 2003— make it illegal for vehicles to operate beyond permitted emission levels.