Cure the garbage eye-sore

Something is indeed rotten in some of our local government bodies. Whereas garbage collection and effective disposal of such waste is a duty owed to ratepayers by these institutions, huge garbage piles, mounting by the day, have become an increasingly common sight on our highways in recent years.

Metropolitan highways too are not spared this massive eye-sore and the nauseated observer is compelled to wonder whether our local government organisations are now in an advanced stage of inner paralysis and decay.

Why not show the alacrity displayed in sending ratepayers their electricity and water bills, for example, in disposing garbage too, we are forced to ask the relevant Municipal and Urban Councils.

Colombo which at one time was rated as a 'Garden City' in this part of the world is no longer bathed in idyllic effulgence. Nor does it breathe the wholeness for which it was reputed. On the contrary, parts of Colombo could be considered as pregnant with disease and death on account of the mounting garbage menace.

The Colombo Municipal Council would, of course, be having ready explanations for this stomach-turning crisis but delayed action in clearing our bins and dumps could in no way be condoned. It is a question of having a sense of priorities.

The collection and disposal of garbage should top the priority lists of our local authorities on account of their serious health implications and nothing should be allowed to get in the way by our local government institutions in carrying out this crucial duty.

We do not believe that contracting this task to private sector organisations is the way out. This has proved a flawed experiment because civic responsibilities need to be handled by local government bodies manned by people's representatives who advocate the public interest. Private sector organisations are wholly responsible to their proprietors whose interests rarely go beyond raking in a fat profit.

Besides, manpower should not prove a problem in this country plagued by unemployment. All that the local authorities ought to do is avail themselves of this substantial reservoir of unused manpower. A degree of drive and initiative by the institutions concerned would do the job.

Having said that, we do not wish to absolve from blame institutions such as the Central Environmental Authority, which seem to be in a state of somnolence too over the grave risks posed by uncollected garbage. Why aren't they taking serious note of this garbage crisis and launching the relevant measures to defuse it ?

Meanwhile, it is plain to see that Sri Lankans are far from being a people with a strong environmental awareness. Contamination may be all around them but they could not care less. A very pitiable condition to be in, one may say.

The Environment Ministry is doing right by taking legal action against those local Government bodies which are playing truant on the garbage crisis. However, an energised drive should also be launched to jolt the public out of its slumberous insensitivity to environmental problems. Cleanliness, it must be remembered, is next to godliness.