Report of the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services / [Ceylon].

  • Ceylon. Civil Medical Department
Date:
[1927]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services / [Ceylon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/138 (page 18)
    handcarts to convenient depots, from where they are removed to the trenching grounds in motoi lorries. The contents are carefully deposited in the trenches to a depth of 6 inches and are immediately covered up with previously pulverised and dried earth which is heaped up in mounds over the covered trenches. The empty buckets are then removed to a paved platform near a well built for the purpose, washed, swabbed with crude petroleum, and transferred into the .lorries to be returned to the respective depots. Scavenging and Disposal of Refuse.—The following methods have been employed in different areas:—(1) Dumping on the banks of a river; (2) spreading over grass fields; (3) burial in trenches around coconut trees; (4) burying in selected areas; (5) incineration. Of the above, such unsatisfactory methods as dumping, spreading over grass fields, trench¬ ing around coconut trees (the two latter for manuring purposes) led invariably to the breeding of flies and vermin. This, in turn, gave rise to the persistence of fly-borne diseases, which are common in Ceylon. Such methods are in vogue in backward and rural areas. Disposal of refuse by incineration is therefore to be preferred. In the larger Sanitary Board towns incineration has been adopted. The largest number ot incinerators has been installed in the Central Province. Incineration under proper supervision is the ideal method for dealing with refuse. It is gratifying to note that this system is being adopted where funds and other circumstances permit. The initial cost and maintenance of incineration is comparatively greater than that of other methods; such expenditure, however, has to be regarded in the nature of a sound investment and should not deter local authorities from adopting incineration. Drainage : Western Province.—Built roadside drains are urgently required for bazaar areas in urban and rural districts. Southern Province.—Lack of proper drainage has been noted at Dikwella, Hakmana, Hambantota town, Beliatta-Kahawatta.area, Walasmulla, Ambalantota, and Tissamaharama. North-Western Province.—Towards the latter part of the year Kurunegala town was surveyed by the Sanitary Engineer of this Department with a view to recommending an efficient scheme of drainage. Northern Province.—There is no satisfactory drainage to speak of. In some of the large Board towns (1) a low rainfall during the major part of the year, (2) the lack of a common source of water supply, (8) the flat and sandy nature of the land, and (4) the extensive areas of compounds have all contributed towards this. The necessity for proper drainage is felt only during the rainy season when, throughout the Province, stagnant pools of water can be seen. These inevitably lead to prolific breeding of mosquitoes resulting in a heavy incidence of malaria. Centra] Province.—In the Nuwara Eliya District in all Sanitary Board towns extensive repairs and extensions to drains have been effected. At Kotagala, back drains have been built to all the tenements. At Talawakele, efficient outlets were provided for the drains. In the Kandy District the drainage is fairly satisfactory in the Local Board towns, but in Sanitary Board towns much work has yet to be effected. In Hatton-Dikoya area, private back drains need alterations. At Gampola, new lengths of drains have been built. Province of Uva.—All the Sanitary Board towns are provided with concrete roadside drains. Water Supplies.—(1) One of the most pressing needs in Ceylon at present is a pure and sufficient water supply, and the demand for it is heard from Municipalities, Urban District Councils, Local Boards, and Sanitary Boards. The recently formed Sanitary Engineering Division has been inundated with applications for the preparation of water supply schemes, and the steps that were taken by that division in 1927 are given in the report of the Sanitary Engineer in the Appendix to this Report. (2) Public Wells.—111 public wells were built during the year throughout the Island as shown below: — Western Province . . . . .. .. 5 North-Central Province . . . . .. . . 1 North-Western Province .. . . . . . . 22 Province of Uva .. . . .. .. 6 Province of Sabaragamuwa . . .. . . 9 Eastern Province . . .. .. .. 10 Northern Province . . .. .. .. 11 Southern Province . . .. .. .. 10 Central Province .. .. .. .. 37 Total .. Ill (3) Private Wells.— (a) Number of inspections made .. .. . . 79,779 (b) Number found unprotected . . .. 54,620 (c) Number of notices served for improvement . . .. 278 (d) Number improved .. . . .. .. 1,206 (e) Number prosecuted for non-compliance with notices . . .. 95 (/) Number convicted . . .. .. .. 63 (4) Examination of Water Samples.— Number of water samples sent for— (i.) Bacteriological examination .. .. .. 24 (ii.) Chemical examination . . .. . . 22 Number of samples found unfit for drinking purposes— (i.) Bacteriologically .. .. .. 7 (ii.) Chemically .. .. .. 8