தமிழ்
සිංහල
Written by Lahiru Fernando
A distillery in Dompe was sealed shut as soon as the Government of Good Governance came into power. However, the distillery began its operations once again from January 1, 2017.
We previously reported on a similar distillery being built in Kalkudah, which is owned by W. M. Mendis. This distillery is owned by Hingurana Distilleries Pvt. Ltd. and it supplies spirits mainly to W. M. Mendis co.
During March, W. M. Mendis has purchased over one hundred thousand litres of spirits. A litre of spirit costs over Rs. 400.
As we reported before, W.M. Mendis is currently owned by a group of companies operated by Arjun Aloysius. Aloysius is the son in law of Arjuna Mahendran, the former Central Bank Governor who is a suspect in the Central Bank Bond Scam.
The distillery was previously owned by Lakshman Wasantha Perera – the Deputy minister of plantation industries. It is located down Jayanthi Road, Imbulwela, Dompe. According to the deputy minister’s private secretary, the distillery was sold off several years ago.
In July 2015, the distillery was sealed for the non payment of taxes amounting to Rs. 27 million.
However, the distillery has been issued a licence once again and it allows the distillery to produce spirits using wheat flour with effect from January 1st.
People claim the area stinks of alcohol at night. They also say that even trees in the area have turned pitch black due to the black smoke coming out of the distillery.
When News 1st reporters visited the location. they witnessed a black substance running across the drains in the area.
“..our crops die when oil is mixed with the water, we do not take water from this well..”, said a farmer.
“.. we were happy when they stopped this, we were happy that the government was doing something right. Now who can we tell this to? there is no point ..” lamented a resident.
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