The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, has made a revelation about the reason why the city of Gampaha was submerged during the recent floods.
The Thero says that the reason for this is the illegal reclamation of the Muthurajawela wetlands by wealthy individuals and certain companies. He said this while expressing his views at a service held at St. Joseph’s Church, Grandpass, to remember those who were affected by the disaster.,
He further commented as follows.
“Muthurajawela is a great resource north of Colombo. It is through Muthurajawela that the water from the tributaries of rivers like Kelani River, Attanagalu Oya, Ja-Ela, and Ma-Oya flows into the sea. But today, as I speak, some rich people, especially company owners, are reclaiming this resource. They are reclaiming it by taking power from state institutions under the table.
Today, the Negombo Lagoon is completely filled with plastic. This plastic is what we threw away. What we dumped into the river. Because it got stuck, today, as I speak, the houses in the Muthurajawela area are still submerged and the water is not draining. Because everything is full. We have never heard that Gampaha city is being submerged. Gampaha city is being submerged because Muthurajawela is full. Therefore, I am making a special request to the government to prepare a program to clean Muthurajawela at this time.