Saturday, January 01, 2011

Development at what cost?

Yesterday, I was shocked and amazed to see the safety regulations being openly violated at the Matara-Colombo Hi-way construction site situated at Makumbura.
The workers were allowed to work on machineries, carry heavy items etc without the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).
Except for Hard-hats, no other protective equipment has been provided to any of the staffs working at this site.
When I tried to communicate with one of the foreign nationals overseeing the operation at this site to raise my concerns, he was pretending not to understand a word of English.
I am sure those who have accepted the BOT (Build/Operate & Transfer) contracts are aware of those safety concerns and given enough provisions to fulfill all the requirements prior to acceptance.
I also wonder where the government Health & Safety inspectors were.
Development is necessary but at what cost and on whose expense are important questions that we need to ask when such flagrant violations being committed openly.

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