Archbishop of Colombo Malcom Cardinal Ranjith has raised serious concern over the damage caused to the coastal belt and the livelihood of the fishermen due to the ongoing sea sand mining activities for the Colombo Financial City or the Port City project and urges the President and the Prime Minister to take a look at this project again and to address concerns of the fishermen.
Issuing a statement, Archbishop of Colombo said, “Representations have been made to me by fishermen and people’s organizations in the Negombo and Dikowita coastal belt, expressing grave concern at the planned massive dredging of sand from the seabed for the Port City Project.
“The fisher-folk are terrified about the huge operation now being prepared for this and the possible ecological disaster that might happen within this area. They also state that already the areas in which the fish lay eggs and breed are being severely affected by sand mining.
“I too am seriously concerned about this project as it might affect not only the livelihood of fishermen, but also cause ecological damage to the coastal areas and affect the continental shelf drastically. “I, therefore, make this appeal to His Excellency the President and the Hon. Prime Minister to take a good look at this project once again and to address the concerns of the fishermen, whose livelihood will be negatively affected. I am also told that large areas of the coastal belt South of Colombo are undergoing erosion.
Hence, I would sincerely call for a frank discussion between the Government and the fishermen’s organizations in order to address their concerns. “This problem arose in the first place as result of the previous Government rushing into the relevant agreement without a proper environmental impact assessment study. It is not too late even now to rectify the situation for the sake of the future well-being of the fisher folk and the environment,” he stated.