Protests banned in Piliyandala for 14 days

Kesbawa acting Magistrate Sunil Weerasinghe issued an order today restraining any form of protests that would inconvenience the public, for 14 days from today (22) in the Piliyandala police division.Piliyandala police OIC K.R.M. Senevirathne informed courts that a protest had been planned by a group including provincial Council Member Laxman Nipunaarachchi against the dumping of garbage collected from Colombo at the Karadiyana garbage dump near the said site and requested for an order under the Criminal procedure code restraining such protests.

Making his submissions SI Senevirathne stated to courts that this same group had staged a protest on the 19th near the Karadiyana garbage dump, resulting in the obstruction of removing the garbage collected by the Colombo Municipality, and it has been reported that this same group was planning to stage a similar protest on the 22nd morning .

Having considered the submissions the acting Magistrate issued this order preventing from staging protests that would harass the general public. The Magistrate also ordered that this order be handed over to the organizers of the protests named as PC member Laxman Nipunaarachchi,, former chairman of the Boralesgamuwa UC Aruna Priyashantha, former chairmen of the Kesbawa UC Sumana Vivien Ranaweera, Laxman Perera, Mohan Lal, attorney Jayarathne Yapa and Sunil Costa, a resident of Pattiyawatte.

The order issued by the Magistrate details that the persons named therein are prevented from conducting any protests, obstructing traffic movements in all main and by-roads, not to indulge in disturbing the peace or causing damages to any public or private property and or engaging in unlawful assembly, and the use public address systems in creating public annoyance and also interfering in the court activities.

Meanwhile, Kesbewa Chief Magistrate, Gihan Ranawaka had ordered the same seven persons on Thursday (20) to be present themselves before the court on Monday (24) for disregarding a court order and obstructing the removal of garbage to a yard in Karadiyana.

The magistrate had ordered on last Monday (17) giving the permission to dump 350 MT of garbage up to April 28, taking into consideration the sudden disaster situation when the the garbage yard in Meetotamulla had collapsed. The magistrate had issued the above order by taking into the consideration of the facts presented by the Kesbewa Police regarding the protests made to turn back some lorry loads of garbage belonging to Colombo Municipal council.

Charges against the above persons were obstructing the implementation of the court order, turning back the lorries with garbage, obstructing the removal of garbage and unlawful assembly. (Muditha Dayananda)