Indian clinical waste reaches Puttalam
The mounting clinical waste in coastal areas off Puttalam has washed ashore from India, the Maritime Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) confirmed yesterday.
“Residents in these areas complained to the MEPA that 50 to 60 kilograms of clinical waste were found washed ashore. Expired medicines, bottles, polythene packages, syringes and surgical hand gloves were among them,” he said.
MEPA says that a proper program will be implemented to remove the clinical waste that has been washed up on to the Puttalam coastal area.
According to the Marine Environment Protection Authority, those clinical waste have been identified as clinical waste from India, disposed to the sea in a hazardous manner.
“We cannot prevent clinical waste from coming to local beaches because it is a natural process,” he said.
However, the MEPA warned the public not to collect clinical waste without any safety precaution, and not to swim in the seas off the coast where clinical waste gathered.
If there is tangible evidence to prove that the clinical watse ad its lrigin to india then the Indians ought to be made accountable. The United Mations Environmetal authrity should be informed and the issue ought to be taken up at the highest level.
India boasts of being a global power yet they cannot contain biological hazrdous material in a way that civilised countries deal with it
why not take it up with India who appear to think we are colony of their’s