Youth & RTI

Information requested on the Calido beach Kalutara

By In

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. Calido beach is home to local fishermen and youngsters who enjoy flying kites.

However, following the floods last May a kilometer of the beach was affected with erosion as the sea basin was widened. Heavy erosions posed a threat to the entire area in and around Calido beach.

An RTI was filed to the District Secretariat office Kalutara requesting information on the following.

  • What factors have caused the Calido beach erosion?
  • What is the assessment of environment harm that has been made
  • What measures are taken to address this issue by now?
  • What measures are planned to address and control this environmental issue?

The District Secretariat office Kalutara denied information on the premise that information was extended in question form.

However, the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management responded to the same RTI explaining the cause and effect of this environmental issue.

It was explained that the river basin widened following the floods in May 2017 causing harm to a number of regions in and around the Kalu River as has happened on several other occasions in history.

It was explained that the natural estuary was widened to let the water into sea. An additional water outlet was opened to improve water drainage.

The department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management has installed stone walls along the coastline to control erosion.

This update was prepared by participants of the Information and Communication Training Workshop conducted by the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) through a grant funded by the United States Agency for International Development through the Strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project Activity.

“The contents of this post are the sole responsibility of SLPI and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *