Manampitiya Nimal Jayaratne:
Authorities have devised a scheme to allow several political cronies licenses for sand dredging on 26 sand banks in the Polonnaruwa segment of the Mahaweli River.
This is despite warnings by environmentalists and wildlife officials about the imminent dangers of sand mining in an area where wild elephants, water buffalo, and other rare species roam.
The sand dredging is to be carried out in the devala (temple) area of the Mahaweli under the second phase of the proposed sand dredging project, which is more likely to have disastrous consequences for those settlers closer to the sand banks of the river.
The former Minister of Environment said that the program of exploiting sand banks was canceled after the media revealed the severe environmental damage caused to the area.
This area of the river is also used to provide drinking water to Polonnaruwa city. The wildlife officials also pointed out that the current Environment Minister, Nasir Ahamed, is determined to grant permission for sand mining to some of his political cronies.
Sources in the Polonnaruwa Wildlife Department revealed that the department has directed a letter to the Geology and Mining Bureau on December 24, 2022, stating that 161,130 sand cubes from 26 sandbanks have been dredged within a year.
The same sources revealed that plans are underway to continue the smuggling of sand by reporting false facts to the court that the villages in the surrounding areas would be submerged due to the river waters overflowing during the flood season in the Manampitiya area.
The Polonnaru Wildlife Officers and environmentalists request the President as well as the Prime Minister and other relevant authorities to stop this severe environmental destruction immediately.
When we asked Mohammad Naseem Hajmul, who is said to be a representative of Environment Minister Nasir Ahmed, over the phone, he denied the allegation that they were planning to dredge sand in the Manapitiya river basin of the Mahaweli.
Nevertheless, it has been reported that the assistant director of wild life in Polonnaruwa has given approval for this, while a large number of people in the Polonnaruwa office, including field wildlife officers, objected to providing these sand dunes for exploitation.
