Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced that every major city would have its own wastewater management system in the future. Currently, such systems are just limited to a few cities, and water pollution in other cities is becoming a cause of concern in the country.

The announcement came on Thursday when Rajapaksa was inaugurating a wastewater system, built with Japanese assistance, in the central city of Kandy. Japan has been a key partner in developing the water management system in the central region, extending over $123 million in loans for projects in the field since 2001.  

“We have planned to build water management systems in every major city in the country, which is now limited to only a few areas,” Rajapaksa was quoted as saying by Colombopage. The plan is expected to be completed by 2030, he informed. 

“Many water sources in our country are now being polluted,” he said, adding, “That is why the Water Supply and Drainage Board formulated a ‘National Sanitation Plan’. Accordingly, we are committed to building wastewater management systems to secure the future.”

During the inauguration event on Thursday, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) handed over the vehicles, machinery, and equipment of the Kandy Urban Waste Management Project to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the Kandy Municipal Council.

Sri Lanka, the prime minister claimed, is still at the forefront in South Asia when it comes to wastewater management. However, he acknowledged that in many places, waste and harmful and untreated water were being discharged into rivers and other resources. And, this needed to be stopped, he added.

Sri Lanka repeatedly sees the outbreak of waterborne diseases, originating with the consumption of polluted and contaminated water.  

(SAM)