Mayor plays dirty: Kurunegala MC refuses to collect garbage from Kurunegala Hospital

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Patients and staff at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital are facing serious health issues following the Kurunegala Municipal Council's failure to collect garbage from the hospital premises for the sixth consecutive day. According to the hospital sources, garbage had not been removed for six days from the hospital premises by the Kurunegala MC due to a personal dispute. It is reported that over 1500 patients receive treatment at the OPD daily while approximately 1000 are receiving residential treatment. Hospital Director Dr Sarath Weerabandara noted the situation had turned worse due to the bad odour surrounding the hospital premises. Dr Weerabandara added that the issue is centred around a personal dispute between the hospital staff and the Kurunegala mayor. According to him a miscommunication between the mayor and the security staff when he attempted to enter the hospital during the visiting hours led to a chain of events and ultimately the MC stopped collecting hospital garbage. The director went on to note that the administration is holding discussions to introduce hospital passes for important personnel following the incident. News 1st attempted to contact Thushara Sanjeewa, the Mayor of Kurunegala. All efforts were unsuccessful.