“No dengue patients reported from Thalalla”: Public Health Inspector Thalalla

Text and pix by 

P.D. De Silva

“No dengue patients have been reported from the Thalalla area,” ensured Public Health Inspector for Thalalla Indika Gunawardena, joining foreign tourists and hotel staff to clean up the picturesque Thalalla beach last Saturday morning (19). The beach cleanup was part of the dengue eradication program initiated by the Association of Persons engaged in the tourist industry in Devinuwara.

“There have been 94 cases of dengue reported in the Devinuwara PS area as at date but there have been no cases reported from Thalalla. Most of these patients had contacted the infection while visiting other parts of the country accept in the Kandegodella area from where it seems that the fever had spread as 20 patients were reported. But it is always better to take precautions and keep our surroundings tidy. I appreciate the initiative taken by hotel staff and specially the foreign nationals to clean up the possible breeding grounds in my area,” he added.

Lal Jayadewa the proprietor of a four roomed guest house and the convener of the beach cleanup campaign said, “There has been a drastic reduction in the number of guests after the outbreak of dengue in Sri Lanka. We should ensure that our area is free of dengue or any other disease to attract tourists as it is our livelihood.”

Helen Langston

 Chathura Gajasinghe General Manager of the 70 room ‘Talalla Retreat’ resort confirmed that there had been many cancellations after warnings were issued about the prevailing outbreak of dengue fever in the island. Among the many foreign nationals who joined the beach cleanup campaign, Yoga instructress at the ‘Thalalla Retreat’ hotel Melanie Woods said that she has introduced a ‘beach cleanup’ exercise for every group of pupils, which helped to keep the resorts beach front free of litter.

Australian tourist Helen Langston a regular visitor to Thalalla who joined in the campaign said that she was dismayed to see all the rubbish on the Thalalla beach. “I have visited Thalalla on many occasions and the beach was litter free when I first visited the area.

It is sad that the Sri Lankans don’t value their beaches. It is the locals that litter the beach. The local government authorities should place litter bins at places frequented by the public,” she added pointing to the many bottles, plastic cups and lunch boxes strewn on the beach.

Secretary of the Devinuwara Pradeshiya Sabha S.W.A. Karunasiri who attended the beach cleanup promised to place plastic litterbins as requested but also requested that residents should ensure that they are not removed by miscreants.