That Beira stench again!

A canal leading to the lake

Garbage strewn all over the lake

The apparent disregard and neglect for the cleaning of Beira Lake displayed by the authorities came to a stinking peak this week, as the odour from the lake became unbearable to passersby. The algae filled lake has now become a liquid garbage dump with waste floating on the water. Even the ducks that used to wade about in the lake near the Navam Mawatha front have abandoned the lake. Their usually white feathers are covered with muck from the water. Added to this, the authorities now suspect, a black liquid - possibly oil- has been dumped in the lake last week. The confusion over which agency is responsible for cleaning and maintaining the lake has further complicated the matter. While the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation is commonly considered to be the responsible agency by government officials, the actual legal authority over the lake lies with the Ports Authority.

Last week, different agencies sent teams to the Beira front to figure out what was going on, but no one has any solutions yet. Over the months, the Beira cleaning has been neglected and different authorities seem to be passing the buck. In a bid to address the crisis, last week, the different authorities discussed the matter and attempted at cleaning efforts, which has left much to be desired.

At least three different high-rise condominiums have been planned alongside the lake. The future residents of these luxury apartments will now have the added advantage of the Beira Lake stink, thanks to the lapses in carrying out duties by government authorities.

The lake is also home to one of the oldest water sports- rowing. Rowing teams of almost all of Colombo schools, the University of Colombo, Tri Forces and National Teams have their rowing practise sessions in the lake. The deteriorating hygienic conditions in the lake have cast a doubt on the health and safety of the oarsmen and women.

"I don't understand why the lake hasn't been cleaned for so long. It smells really bad now, and makes it almost impossible to walk past it," says one pedestrian, A. Jayawardana whose office is housed in a nearby building.

"The poor animals are so confused and are walking about in the walking paths now. You don't feel it when you drive along with the shutters up, but when you walk you really get the horrible smell," he said.

Who is responsible?

The Commissioner of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) V. K. Anura was quick to absolve any connection to the Beira Lake. According to him, the CMC has nothing to do with the lake. However, due to the current state the lake was in, he has sent a technical team to assess the situation.

The team suspects foul play. According to Anura, the team has informed that the black murky substance in the water may have been dumped into the lake.

The question how any one could dump a bowser full of oil in the Berai Lake, sitting in the middle of the city, with so much surveillance and security, remains unanswered. However, Anura pointed out, the agency in charge of cleaning the lake is the Urban Development Authority (UDA). As it turns out, even the UDA is not responsible. According to Projects Director Mahinda Withanachchige, the UDA takes responsibility only for the Floating Market and the small island in Nawam Mawatha, as they are structures maintained by the Authority. Cleaning is done by yet another agency, the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC), Withanachchige claimed. The SLLRDC claims, they have no legal authority over the care of the Beira Lake, either. The government agency responsible is the Ports Authority, Chairman, SLRDC Asela Iddawela said.

"I cannot do much as it is not listed under the SLLRDC responsibility, I would get audit queries if I spend Corporation money on items not listed under the institution", he claims.

Iddawela has also written to the Ports Authority requesting them to hand over responsibility of maintaining the lake to the SLLRDC, formally.

A Cabinet paper to this effect was submitted some months ago, he says, but nothing came of it.

"The process got stuck somewhere so the responsibility was never formally transferred to us" he said.

What can be done?

Despite the Beira Lake falling out of the SLLRDC's purview, Iddawela has already initiated work to deal with the issue, he claims. "As everyone refers to us regarding the matter, I have initiated a research to devise a method to deal with the algae in the lake."

However, the biggest issue with managing the cleaning of the lake is the sewage lines that have been directed to the lake, Withanachchige said.

"When the water flows out, there is no issue, it is when the water is low and stagnant that it emanates a foul smell," he explained.

Apart from the research team appointed to explore long term solutions to the issue, the SLLRDC has also dispatched a technical team to investigate where the oil-like substance on the lake's surface came from. However, the institution does not have any legal authority, and therefore, it cannot take action against any wrongdoers, Iddawela said.

The SLLRDC suspects there may be an oil leakage which washes into the lake, but they can only carry out limited investigations on the issue.

The UDA too carried out their own investigations to see if the oil was carried through one of the canals that they are responsible for, but confirmed it was not so. The CMC too checked their canals and reported in the negative, leading both organizations to suspect foul play.

Adhoc clean up efforts

All agencies involved in the maintaining of the Beira Lake last week scrambled around to carry out cleaning work. While some parts of the lake were cleaned during the week, there is still much to be done.

The oil-like substance still remains on the water surface, and so does the repulsive odour. The results of neglect would take months to rectify, or may be heavy rains can wash away the oily substance. The SLLRDC on Friday examined a part of the lake to assess the feasibility of launching a boat service from D. R. Wijewardana Mawatha to the Town Hall. Realizing that the service route falls through some of the dirtiest parts of the Lake, SLLRDC launched a lake cleaning effort on Friday. However, the sustainability of such ad-hoc efforts have proven to be short lived, whereas the issue demands a more concerted effort to keep the lake clean.

Pix: Susantha Wijegunasekara

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That Beira stench again!

The apparent disregard and neglect for the cleaning of Beira Lake displayed by the authorities came to a stinking peak this week, as the odour from the lake became unbearable to passersby. The algae filled lake has now become a liquid garbage dump with waste floating on the water. Even the ducks that used to wade about in the lake near the Navam Mawatha front have abandoned the lake. Their usually white feathers are covered with muck from the water. Added to this, the authorities now suspect, a black liquid - possibly oil- has been dumped in the lake last week. The confusion over which agency is responsible for cleaning and maintaining the lake has further complicated the matter. While the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation is commonly considered to be the responsible agency by government officials, the actual legal authority over the lake lies with the Ports Authority.

Last week, different agencies sent teams to the Beira front to figure out what was going on, but no one has any solutions yet. Over the months, the Beira cleaning has been neglected and different authorities seem to be passing the buck. In a bid to address the crisis, last week, the different authorities discussed the matter and attempted at cleaning efforts, which has left much to be desired.

At least three different high-rise condominiums have been planned alongside the lake. The future residents of these luxury apartments will now have the added advantage of the Beira Lake stink, thanks to the lapses in carrying out duties by government authorities.

The lake is also home to one of the oldest water sports- rowing. Rowing teams of almost all of Colombo schools, the University of Colombo, Tri Forces and National Teams have their rowing practise sessions in the lake. The deteriorating hygienic conditions in the lake have cast a doubt on the health and safety of the oarsmen and women.

"I don't understand why the lake hasn't been cleaned for so long. It smells really bad now, and makes it almost impossible to walk past it," says one pedestrian, A. Jayawardana whose office is housed in a nearby building.

"The poor animals are so confused and are walking about in the walking paths now. You don't feel it when you drive along with the shutters up, but when you walk you really get the horrible smell," he said.

Who is responsible?

The Commissioner of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) V. K. Anura was quick to absolve any connection to the Beira Lake. According to him, the CMC has nothing to do with the lake. However, due to the current state the lake was in, he has sent a technical team to assess the situation.

The team suspects foul play. According to Anura, the team has informed that the black murky substance in the water may have been dumped into the lake.

The question how any one could dump a bowser full of oil in the Berai Lake, sitting in the middle of the city, with so much surveillance and security, remains unanswered. However, Anura pointed out, the agency in charge of cleaning the lake is the Urban Development Authority (UDA). As it turns out, even the UDA is not responsible. According to Projects Director Mahinda Withanachchige, the UDA takes responsibility only for the Floating Market and the small island in Nawam Mawatha, as they are structures maintained by the Authority. Cleaning is done by yet another agency, the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC), Withanachchige claimed. The SLLRDC claims, they have no legal authority over the care of the Beira Lake, either. The government agency responsible is the Ports Authority, Chairman, SLRDC Asela Iddawela said.

"I cannot do much as it is not listed under the SLLRDC responsibility, I would get audit queries if I spend Corporation money on items not listed under the institution", he claims.

Iddawela has also written to the Ports Authority requesting them to hand over responsibility of maintaining the lake to the SLLRDC, formally.

A Cabinet paper to this effect was submitted some months ago, he says, but nothing came of it.

"The process got stuck somewhere so the responsibility was never formally transferred to us" he said.

What can be done?

Despite the Beira Lake falling out of the SLLRDC's purview, Iddawela has already initiated work to deal with the issue, he claims. "As everyone refers to us regarding the matter, I have initiated a research to devise a method to deal with the algae in the lake."

However, the biggest issue with managing the cleaning of the lake is the sewage lines that have been directed to the lake, Withanachchige said.

"When the water flows out, there is no issue, it is when the water is low and stagnant that it emanates a foul smell," he explained.

Apart from the research team appointed to explore long term solutions to the issue, the SLLRDC has also dispatched a technical team to investigate where the oil-like substance on the lake's surface came from. However, the institution does not have any legal authority, and therefore, it cannot take action against any wrongdoers, Iddawela said.

The SLLRDC suspects there may be an oil leakage which washes into the lake, but they can only carry out limited investigations on the issue.

The UDA too carried out their own investigations to see if the oil was carried through one of the canals that they are responsible for, but confirmed it was not so. The CMC too checked their canals and reported in the negative, leading both organizations to suspect foul play.

Adhoc clean up efforts

All agencies involved in the maintaining of the Beira Lake last week scrambled around to carry out cleaning work. While some parts of the lake were cleaned during the week, there is still much to be done.

The oil-like substance still remains on the water surface, and so does the repulsive odour. The results of neglect would take months to rectify, or may be heavy rains can wash away the oily substance. The SLLRDC on Friday examined a part of the lake to assess the feasibility of launching a boat service from D. R. Wijewardana Mawatha to the Town Hall. Realizing that the service route falls through some of the dirtiest parts of the Lake, SLLRDC launched a lake cleaning effort on Friday. However, the sustainability of such ad-hoc efforts have proven to be short lived, whereas the issue demands a more concerted effort to keep the lake clean.