Devotees urged not to bring polythene or plastic to Sri Pada

By Ifham Nizam

The Central Environmental Authority yesterday requested all devotees, who are visiting Sri Pada, to refrain from disposing of garbage, and especially polythene and plastic in the area while visiting Sri Pada.

This year’s Sri Pada season begins on 26th December, the Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day, and ends on the Vesak Full Moon Poya Day of 2024.

CEA Director General P.B. Hemantha Jayasinghe said that Sri Pada is located in the Samanala Nature Reserve. In 2010, the Samanala Nature Reserve was declared a world heritage by UNESCO and has been identified as a highly sensitive environmental zone.

This sanctuary is rich in plants endemic to Sri Lanka, and it is also home to many endemic Animals. The sources of water of Sri Lanka’s major rivers originate from the Samanala Nature Reserve.

“It is our duty and responsibility to protect this sensitive environmental zone. Disposing of garbage, including polythene and plastic in this area, damages the unique biodiversity of this sensitive environmental zone, and it also pollutes the water sources in this reserve. Further, the waste added to this environment is swept along the water sources, pollutes the rivers and streams across the country, and ends up in the sea,” he said.

He also requests the devotees not to bring any polythene or plastic when coming to Sri Pada, and if polythene or plastic needs to be used under unavoidable circumstances, not to improperly dispose of such waste in this sensitive environmental zone.