August 3, 2013, 8:16 pm


By Maheen Senanayake

JVP MP Vijitha Herath yesterday rejected government claims that the incidents leading from the Weliweriya protest were politically inspired, with a minister implying that the JVP had a hand.

"The government is busy looking for scapegoats without resolving the issue at hand," Herath said.

He is a Gampaha district MP but his name was not among those mentioned as having attended a meeting of elected officials convened on Friday by Minister Basil Rajapaksa to discuss the water pollution problem. He was not available when we tried to reach him a second time to check whether he was invited.

Herath said it was correct that some members of the Inter Company Employees Union branch at the Venigros factory had been dismissed about seven months ago as stated by Minister Dallas Alahapperuma at a press conference at SLFP Headquarters on Friday.

"This was an industrial matter and for the record it must be stated that not all members of the Inter Company Employees Union are members of the JVP," Herath said.

He said that the problem was the increase in the acid content of well water in an entire village. The JVP certainly did not have the technology to do that, he remarked.

Herath said that villagers had to seek medical attention en masse when they developed a skin disease. The doctors realized that all those with the problem came from the same area – something the villagers themselves had noticed. The villagers have then had the water independently checked and found that the pH value was low indicating increased acidity in the well water.

The villagers had met the Divisional Secretary along with the Chairman of the Mahara Pradeshiya Sabha and they were promised that the matter would be raised with Deputy Minister Vasantha Alagiyawanna.

As there was no follow up, the villagers began protesting and requested a meeting with Minister Basil Rajapaksa which was promised. When they went for the meeting at the Kachcheri last Monday expecting to meet Rajapaksa, only Alagiyawanna was present and that aggravated the situation.

At that time they were told they had to wait for a couple of weeks for the test results. The villagers made two demands – that the factory be closed temporarily and arrangements made to speedily supply them with water.

They also sought relief through the justice system which they realized was not forthcoming. They wanted the wells inspected to identify those that were safe for drinking water and those that were not.

"These are the facts," Herath said. "We understand that the factory is owned by a company whose shareholders include Dhammika Perera, the EPF and the NSB."

He accused the government of trying to politicize the matter which was a health hazard to an entire village and alleged that Minister Mervin Silva had visited the area a few nights ago with some of his supporters and attempted to remove two containers despite protests from villagers.

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