Typical Sri Lankans—they talk about system change. But no one thinks of self-change

Catering to large numbers of devotees daily in Kandy for the exposition of the sacred relics of Buddha would have been a challenge, especially when their sanitary needs have always been a concern for the hill country capital. The geographical uniqueness of Kandy means that the wastewater, if not regulated, normally ends up in either Kandy Lake or the Mahaweli River.  

There would have been drawbacks to how the municipal authorities handled the situation. They should have had better waste management practices in this particular area, using national TV or public address systems to educate the devotees, not only regarding garbage disposal but on many other aspects of civic behaviour. 

Barely a month after the exposition of the Sacred Relics of the Buddha in Kandy, we witnessed a similar situation in Nuwara Eliya, where the National Vesak festival was held, although not on the same scale due to a smaller number of days involved.  

Sri Lankan culture is to act on their own self-interest, irrespective of which social background they come from, throwing willy-nilly onto the streets wrappers, plastic bottles, polythene, food residue, and other waste simply shows the respect and love the people have for their environment and country.

Change does not come from waiting for someone else to act. A country can change a system only through shared actions. By refusing to act together, we are guaranteed to fail collectively. Until Sri Lankans realise their moral responsibility, authorities should impose heavy fines on people who litter or break the rules. This is how other countries keep their cities clean and orderly when people are not culturally trained to respect the environment and rules.

Vinodini Jayawardena