News

Environmental case filed against Araliya hotel, Unawatuna

Published

2 years ago

2021/04/7

By Ifham Nizam

The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) yesterday (6) filed a case against the Araliya Hotel, Unawatuna in the Court of Appeal.

Attorney-at-Law Ravindranath Dabare told The Island that they had been compelled to file action because there had been no proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the negative impact of the project would harm the ecologically sensitive Buonavista reef.

Unawatuna boasted one of the best beaches in the world, Dabare said.

Tourists who visited Unawatuna in large numbers since its transformation into a prominent tourist destination of Southern Sri Lanka preferred homestead tourism, CEJ Executive Director Hemanatha Withanage said, adding that a part of Rumassala Sanctuary area including both the forest and coral reefs were now protected due to their valuable biodiversity.

Environmentalists and nature activists insist that the construction of a 16-storeyed edifice for a hotel complex which includes over 250 rooms covering an extent of 10 acres and 6.1 perches along with a 20 -40-foot wide carpeted road from ‘Yaddehimulla’ to the ‘Rumassala Peella Junction’ via the boundary of the Rumassala mountain will be detrimental to the priceless natural resources in the area including the Rumassala Sanctuary.

Although an EIA was done for 250 rooms the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management had granted approval for 300 rooms and ancillary buildings without calling for a supplementary EIA, Withanage added.

“If the road is constructed, there will be considerable destruction to the ecosystem of the Rumassala sanctuary,” Withanage stressed.

The Araliya Hotel was planning to release 60% of wastewater after treatment to the sea on completion of the project, the senior environmentalist said.

At present all waste water from the hotel as being discharged to a waterway close to the hotel, and it ultimately flows into the sea.

If the mega Araliya project was not regulated properly, it would eliminate the ecological appeal of Rumassala and Unawatuna where people had lived peacefully, the CEJ Legal Team warned.

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News

Stay on course and don’t go back to the past – Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy

Published

7 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

Former Governor of the Central Bank delivering the keynote address at a high profile Webinar hosted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (24) said that Sri Lanka must implement the structural reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without relaxing like in the past or else we will be in a deeper economic mess.

The webinar was titled ‘What is next for Sri Lanka in the wake of the IMF programme’

News

Sustainable economic development goals cannot be achieved unless attention is paid to mitigating climate change – Sagala Ratnayake

Published

7 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake said sustainable economic development goals cannot be accomplished without taking steps to mitigate climate change.

He said this while participating in the 10,000 sapling planting program organized by the LEO Youth Vision 2048 Club and the LEO Club at the Royal College, Colombo on Thursday (23rd).

This program was organized in view of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s birthday, which is today (24), and the required plants were distributed to the main schools of the Colombo District.

News

SF claims thousands of police and military personnel leaving

Published

19 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Saman Indrajith

Thousands of police and military personnel had left the services recently as they did not want to carry out illegal orders, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday. According to the war-winning army commander 200 policemen have resigned during the past two months and 25,000 soldiers have left the army during the last two years.

“We urged the law enforcement and military officials not to follow illegal orders. We will reinstate them with back pay,” he said.

Fonseka also urged the President and the government MPs not to take people for fools.

“Sri Lanka owes 55 billion dollars to the world. Ranil’s plan is to borrow another seven billion during the next four years. So, in four years we will owe 62 billion to the world.

Ranil and his ministers ask us what the alternative to borrowing is. These are the people who destroyed the economy and society. They must leave. Then, we will find an alternative and develop the country,” he said, adding that the IMF loans had made crises in other nations worse.

“Ranil says that by 2025, we will have a budget surplus as in Japan, Germany and South Korea. These countries are economic power houses, and this comparison is ludicrous.”