War over water

The ground water in the Jaffna Peninsula had been contaminated with bacteria and agro-chemicals, Provincial Minister of Environment
P. Ainkaranesan said. He also charged that the National Water Supply and Drainage Board was acting more like an agent of private companies that sold potable water.
He said that the Jaffna Municipal Council and the armed forces stationed in Jaffna were dumping excrement in dry and waste land polluting the environment, he charged.
He said that the armed forces dumped human excrement in Neerveli, while the Jaffna Municipal Council dumped excrement in Kallundaveli, which is a waste land.
He made the allegations when he spoke at the inaugural function of Northern Provincial Hydrological Research Centre held in the precincts of Thondaimanaru Irrigation Department on Wednesday.
In has transpired from the researches, Jaffna ground water had been contaminated with agro-chemicals and (e-coli) germs found in human faeces,
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board has advised the people to drink bottled water as the well water was contaminated with e-coli bacteria found in faeces.
“They are encouraging people to drink bottled water instead of advising them to drink boiled water and behaving like the advertising agents of bottled water companies,” he said.
“They should not promote multinational companies by terrorising people into buying bottle water. Because of the short comings in our waste disposal method the ground water has become contaminated.  “The Miocene rocks, under the peninsula are porous and let toilet pit water to mix with underground water. “This misdeed can be attributed to their maladministration or lack of resources. But the forces which have all the resources are also doing this. They dump their excrement in the Neervely open dry land,” he said.