A section of the newly constructed artificial beach in Mount Lavinia has been washed away.
Sea erosion has resulted in part of the sand just recently filled being washed away.
However, Coast Conservation Department (CCD) Director General (DG) Prabath Chandrakeerithi said the erosion was expected.
He said that while people are reacting with shock and claiming that public funds have gone to waste, it was expected that part of the sand will be washed away.
Chandrakeerithi said that the sand which was washed away will move with the water and collect at Wellawatta and Dehiwala creating part of the artificial beach.
An artificial beach stretching 2 km is being made in Kalutara’s Calido Beach, 1 ½ km along the Ratmalana-Angulana stretch, and 500 m in Mount Lavinia at a cost of Rs. 890 million.
LKR 890m castle in t sand washed away to t ocean. At a time @SriLanka can’t pay public servant salaries why on earth was such a huge amount spent on extending Mount Lavinia beach with NO Environmental Impact Assessment during #Covid19LK curfew? Who benefitted? pic.twitter.com/78BGnZBtNR
— Harsha de Silva (@HarshadeSilvaMP) May 31, 2020
800,000 m3 of sand is being dredged for this project; 300,000 m3 for Calido Beach, 350,000 m3 for the Ratmalana-Angulana stretch, and 150,000 m3 for Mount Lavinia.
The CCD said the project was necessary to control erosion. However environmentalists have raised serious concerns over the project.
(Colombo Gazette)
