Hands off Sinharaja!
Source:Island
When I saw it, I almost fainted, driven by utter disbelief. I just couldn’t absorb the shock, and, mind you, I am not exaggerating. This is in spite of the fact that what you hear, read and is even talked about day in and day out nowadays: A mass of news on what the nation’s forests and the rest of its environment have been subjected to, for quite some time now.
The Editor of The Island has written about this ‘murder of a green canopy’ (this is how I personally want to name this madness) in many an illuminating editorial of his newspaper, the latest being the one titled ‘Sinharaja in danger’ (20-03-21). This is in addition to numerous write-ups that have appeared in other newsspapers and digital media, coming from concerned citizenry.
Impervious to moral values, and also seemingly without even an iota of concern for the nation’s ecological and environmental well-being, some still continue to engage in acts of environmental destruction, with gross impunity. Quite possibly, aided and supported otherwise, by those who possess the might and also the muscle with vested interests or other affiliations and attractions; the destruction is still going in full swing, with no sign of it abating, let alone stopping altogether in the foreseeable future.
What made me write this is the latest of another ghastly proposal coming from our so-called politico-nation builders; acquiring land within the Sinharaja forest to build two tanks (Waw) to supply water to Hambantota.
And to compensate for the loss of precious forest ,that must have taken eons to evolve and grow now pulsating with many forms of living matter, they are planning to plant rubber! It is downright laughable, mindless and wicked. It shows the callous disregard of some, for the nation’s enviro-ecological well being.
Lastly, before leaving my short article, I must not forget to tell you the story of ‘Aral sea’, which was once the fourth largest inland sea in the world (located between two central Asian countries, former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), now virtually a lifeless bed of salty sand, dotted by relics from a past, when it was actually an ‘inland sea’.
The sad story of the Aral sea has long been a ‘cause célèbre’ sitting on top amongst the global environmental disasters. An exemplar of the devastating consequences that ill-thought out, short-sighted projects, which are more often than not driven by personal agendas of some people, needless to say politicians, in particular, can have on the environment.
I suggest that those, who are planning to dig and build in the middle of this precious to all of us, reserve, read the story of ‘Aral sea’; and think twice about the drastic consequences that would surely follow, before going ahead with this insane project.
LAKSIRI WARNAKULA
