According to Rathupaswala Final Report ....
where fighting and killing took place ...
no involvement by factory, for pollution of water
The cause for the Gampaha Rathupaswala water issue which resulted in a massive protest resulting in tragic deaths of some individuals about two years back was an incident where
water from a factory which had been erected there in the area had been polluted.
The public demanded that the factory concerned be removed because waste matter of Rathupaswala Vinigros Factory had mixed with underground water in the area and had in turn resulted in causing harm to the quality of the water. However as their request was turned down, there was a conflict that took place between the police and the public and several people had to forego their lives. But what the Attorney General yesterday (08) informed the Court of Appeal was that it has been confirmed by investigations conducted that it has been found that no impact at all has been created by waste-matter released by Vinigros Factory so as to cause harm to the quality of the underground water in the area. The Attorney General stated this by bringing forward the Environmental Report issued under the signatures of Deputy Director of the Environment Pollution Control Unit of the Central Environmental Authority, Mr. M.S.D. Munasingha and Senior Environment Officer of the Environmental Pollution Control Unit, Mr. D.M.S.S. Bandara. These Environment Reports were presented on the occasion when the case against Rathupaswala Venigeras Factory was taken for hearing yesterday in the presence of the President of Court of Appeal, Judge Mr. K. Malalgoda.
For purposes of analysing the water samples of 6 wells within the premises of the factory-land, samples of a tube-well, water samples from 8 wells in the surrounding area of the factory and samples of water from wells located far from the factory were secured in three instances.
Samples of water secured prior to the court order of August 16th, 2013 and after one year the factory was closed and two years after the factory was closed were thus subjected to analysis, it was learned. As such, water used by people in the area were not in a polluted state in a scientific manner as such and the people had made a big uproar and fought and died in that issue as a consequence of a misunderstanding. According to these reports, the chances are that the said factory may once again be relocated in the future.