Indian clinical waste lands on Puttalam beaches

Colombo (News1st) - Clinical waste believed to be from India, has washed up on shores of Puttalam. Area residents say the waste has been washing up over the past 4 days. Clinical waste has collected along a 10 kilometer stretch of coastline from Udappuwa to Thoduwawa in the Puttalam District. Our correspondent in the area reported that a majority of the waste comprised of plastic containers, discarded vaccines, discarded syringes and other clinical materials. Fishermen living in the are claim that as a result of this they are finding it difficult to walk on the beaches adding that this sort of waste is not good for the fish as well. They claim that even though this area has been designated as a tourist location, no one looks after it. The Marine Environment Protection Authority suspects that the clinical waste may have originated from India. Dr. Teney Pradeep Kumara, General Manager of the Authority notes that the waste which weights around 50kgs could be garbage that originated from Kerala. The 'India Today' newspaper reported that the waste includes a large stock of expired drugs manufactured in India. Clinical waste had previously washed ashore in this manner in Vadamarachchi, Thondamanaru and other parts of the Jaffna District on the 17th of November 2017.