The Sri Lanka Health authorities warned that the threat of dengue is spreading across the Colombo city again.

A spokesman for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) said that this is mainly because of the uncollected garbage in the city. About 201 dengue patients have been reported in the Colombo city during this year alone. Four had succumbed to the disease, he said.

Colombo

Sri Lankan Marine officials together with the Navy have taken measures to minimize the environmental damage caused by the Turkish ship that sank 8 kilometers off Foul Point in Trincomalee.

Under the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Highways and Road Development Minister T. B. Ekanayake had taken steps to speed up the completion of Colombo- Katunayake Highway.

Highways and Road Development Ministry Media Secretary Shirantha Premawardena told The Island yesterday, plans were afoot to complete the project within 39 months.

A special programme to control dengue will be carried out islandwide this month as during the month as the Health Ministry hopes to control the possibility of another outbreak with the onset of South West monsoon in May and June.

The garbage problem that affected the Colombo city for the past few days has now been addressed by the Colombo Municipal Council as a new dumping site at Peliyagoda was found, Municipal Commissioner, Colombo, Bhadrani Jayawardena told the Daily News yesterday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday advised the Urban Development Ministry and the Environment Ministry to get together and prepare a Combined National Policy Act and present it to Parliament on how to dispose garbage in Colombo City and suburbs.

During a meeting held at Temple Trees, the President instructed them to identify land for this purpose immediately.

Sri Lanka Ministry of Environment is to develop the wetlands around the parliament and in Battaramulla area as urban gardens.

According to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Patali Champika Ranawaka this project is to be implemented under the programme of Green Circle introduced by the Ministry.

Sri Lanka's biggest garbage mountain, growing in height day by day, at Bloemendhal Road, Colombo 13 has become a menace. It could explode if fire spreads to the methane gas emanating from the lower levels of the dump, the Colombo Municipal Council Public Health Department warned yesterday.
A recent fire in a section of the dump had aggravated an already bad health hazard, residents of the area complained yesterday (26).

On the direction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa a committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Minister of Urban and Sacred Area Development Dinesh Gunawardena mainly to carry out maintenance work especially on the roads, clearing up the unauthorized constructions and beautification of roundabouts and parks in the city.
The SAARC Summit gave us an impetus to improve the living environment in Colombo and spruce up the city.