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| Sunday, 2 January 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Coastal negligence of guidelines enhanced damage Number of deaths and mass scale destruction to houses and hotels due to the 'Tsunami' tidal waves could have been prevented to certain extent if the residents and hoteliers had constructed their houses and buildings according to the guidelines of the National Coastal Zone Management Plan, which clearly indicates the set backs to the buildings constructed along the coastal areas, Dr. R. A. D. B. Samaranayake, Director Coastal Conservation Department (CCD) said. Dr. Samaranayake said that over 200 orders were given to those who encroached and put up constructions along the coastal areas by the CCD this year and legal action had already been taken against some of the encroachers. He said that the coastal structures and fishing harbours were seriously damaged. The Galle and Tangalle fishing harbours were the severely damaged harbours out of the 12 harbours in the country. "Most of the harbours have been blocked with vehicles, and debris got washed off from the land. We need time to clear the harbour", he pointed out. "Compared to other parts of the coastal area, the East coast is severely damaged", he said adding that off-shore sand pumped for sand nourishment in the coastal belt under the Asian Development Bank funds has been washed away. Giving priority in repairing the damaged railways and roads, the CCD has joined the Railway Department and the Road Development Authority to bring back the transport system to normalcy. Meanwhile, the CCD has decided to utilise next year's allocations for development activities to re-construct the damaged harbours and coastal structures. "We will commence the assessments of the damage in January", he said. (SS) |
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