out of topic. but meka gana kawuruth katha karanne natthe ai gung :/ munta gahala maranna epai
http://nation.lk/online/2015/08/29/cola-giant-in-hot-water/
Coca-cola, the soda giant, announced an ambitious plan this Tuesday. The company now riddled in controversy over a contamination issue said it would replenish all the water used in making its beverages by the end of 2015. That’s five years of its scheduled goal.
In retrospect the company may just have to rethink the numbers because over 500,000 cubic meters of water has already gone to waste. Coca-cola Sri Lanka has been treading in ethical grey area in a desperate attempt to diffuse the crisis.
This past week, the company’s Environment Protection License was suspended, forcing the factory situated in Biyagama to an abrupt grinding halt. The company was found to be in direct violation of its EPL when news of the contamination surfaced.
Coca-Cola Sri Lanka responded to The Nation with alacrity regarding the contamination. A leakage purportedly from an underground fuel pipeline last Monday, the company claims was the cause of the contamination. Although the leak was plugged, oil had seeped far into the Kelani River.
Ranjith Perera, Deputy Manager of Western Production at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board recounted the 9-hour task to cleanse the Water treatment plant at Ambatale of the oil slick. “At around 7 am we noticed pools of oil floating on the water, upon closer inspection, we were convinced that it was a strong contaminant and shut down the plant.”
Floating containment booms was used to stop the spread of the oil while officials from the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) joined in to remove any residue that seeped to the surface. It was a continuous process of pumping and flushing out water to ensure that there was no traces of the oil.
To-date, Perera cannot be sure if it was actually diesel like the company claimed or any other benzene. Despite his best efforts, the NWSB recorded over 300 complaints from the Dehiwala alone with callers complaining of a stench and foul taste.
The Water Board has two intakes from the Kelani River, one at Biyagama, where 180,000 cubic meters of water is generated daily by an automated treatment plant and distributed to North Colombo, Ja-Ela and Kelaniya. The second plant is at Ambatale, where 500,000 cubic meters of water goes to the Dehiwela, Kaduwela, Maharagama, Maligakanda and Kolonnawa areas.
“Mistrust among the general public is a huge blow to the institution,” Perera said. “We’ve accounted for the damages in infrastructure and collateral breach of trust in claims that will now be put forward.
He empathized that the crisis cost the government more than the company in question. “We still don’t know the extent of the damage to the NSWB filters and clarifies,” he said. “The CEA itself had to employ so many people on a day when they were supposed to be granted leave. He said that CEA had to release water from the Laxapana reservoir to flush out the contaminated water.”
“Needless to say, the company will have to compensate,” he added. Reports allege that Coca-Cola Sri Lanka has been fined up to Rs.1 Billion, with several quarters claiming that the penalty to be unreasonably high.