Ignoring the concerns of environmentalists, an ambitious beach conservation project is now nearing completion at a cost of Rs.890 with the expediting of the construction of an artificial beach between Kalutara and Mount Lavinia even during the Covid -19 crisis periods.
Calido, is a beautiful beach strip in Kalutara that extends between the Kalu river and the sea. The beach is both a local and foreign tourist attraction and it is home to local fishermen and an area foryoungsters who enjoy flying kites.
The former government approved a proposal to invest more than US$300 million to reclaim land for a new beachfront from Kollupitiya to Dehiwela.
The Kalutara North Calido beach Development Project is being constructed in three stages. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had inspected the progress of the project in March and instructed the officials to keep the area clean.
Construction work on the Danish company project was in full swing over the weekend in Mount Lavinia under tight police security, residents in the area said.
The Coast Conservation Department said that cabinet approval had been obtained for the project, and once completed, will help boost the fisheries sector and tourism in the area.
“In a few days this project will be completed,” Prabath Chandrakeerthi, the director-general of the coast conservation department disclosed. .
Artificial sand barriers will be built to prevent erosion along the four-kilometre long coast between Angulana and Mount Lavinia, and the two-kilometre long Calido Beach in Kalutara, under the project.
“This sand (to build these barriers) is mined from areas where there is a large amount of wildlife,” environmentalist Sajeewa Chamikara disclosed..
Project details show that a 70-metre long barrier between the coast of Angulana and Mount Lavinia, and a 40-metre barrier in the Calido beach is being built by a Danish company which received the contract for the project.
“We could have used rock revetments to prevent coastal erosion. If we do so, we would lose both our tourism and fishing industries in the areas,” the coastal department’s director-general claimed.
He said the results reaped through this project would remain up to at least five years.
However, environmentalist Chamikara noted that the project is not sustainable as it would damage the environment, and would have to be done frequently at a huge financial cost.
(LI)