President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the relocation of the Dipped Products
Glove factory which had been at the centre of the controversy in Weliweriya,
leading to protests and clashes between residents and security forces personnel,
He also said any new factory set up in the future in Sri Lanka
must be constructed within a BOI zone. The President gave these directives
during a discussion with Rathupaswala area residents and relevant officials on
the Weliweirya water issue the
Presidential Secretariat.
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa
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After listening to detailed accounts from
residents, factory representatives and other officials, the President offered
the following solutions to help resolve the situation:
1.The main priority of the authorities in this region will be to ensure
that the people receive safe water.
2.The Government Analyst’s Department will carry out testing of the water
and issue a report.
3. If the report reveals that the factory has operated in a wrongful
manner, the factory will be shut down immediately.
4.If the report reveals that the factory has operated within the
regulations, the company will be given a stipulated amount of reasonable time
to relocate to a BOI zone.
In addition to these specific aspects, President Rajapaksa also stated that any new factory that will be located in Sri Lanka must be constructed within a BOI zone to prevent these types of problems in the future. The residents and the factory representatives, under the guidance of the President, agreed to allow the factory to make use of the items that have already been produced prior to ceasing of operations and to allow the factory administration to function until the report is published. The resident expressed satisfaction at the agreements reached and agreed to work with officials to help resolve the problem. President Rajapaksa urged the citizens to refrain from taking the law into their own hands if a problem arises in the future and requested all parties to try their utmost to resolve crises through discussion.
Resident of Rathupaswala had engaged in a protest
on August 01 claiming that the effluents released by the Dipped Products Glove factory
is causing environmental and water pollution and demanded that it be shut down. The protest however, turned deadly on August
1, when the security forces called to control the protesters blocking the main
Colombo-Kandy Highway opened fire at them resulting in three deaths and
injuries to scores. The dead were bystanders and two of them were students. However,
The company, Dipped Products PLC, part of the Hayleys Group, however has
rejected the accusations saying the factory’s effluent water quality is
regularly tested by the National Building and Research Organization and that
the facility operates with valid Environmental Protection Licence.
Minister of Economic Development . Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Water Supply
and Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena,
Minister of Social Services Felix Perera, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary of the Ministry
of Defense and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Gampaha District parliamentarians, Western
provincial council members, senior military officials and several other
high-ranking government officials were present at the discussion.
