Garbage Disposal Declared As an Essential Service

Followed by mounting protest  demonstrations  carried out by organized interested groups against disposal of garbage in different areas , the government has taken  steps to deal with the situation .

An extra  ordinary  gazette notification had been  issued under the directives of President Maithripala Sirisena making the disposal of garbage an essential service for local government bodies.  The gazette was issued yesterday with effect from midnight under No.16 of the Public Security Act.

According to the order,  local government bodies must see to the collection of garbage, transportation, disposal and storage.

Persons who threaten, disrupt duties, and obstruct individuals engaged in garbage collection and threatening them to leave employment will be dealt according to the law.

Police have been granted authority to arrest such individuals without an arrest warrant.

The gazette will also allow legal action to be taken against any individual that disrupts the process of disposing garbage.

The gazette stated such individuals can be subject to rigours imprisonment by producing them before a magistrate.