Treading the path of a “Green Dream”, the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance came across “Thudugala Ella”, a breath taking waterfall, leisure spot and a paradise for local and migratory birds.
Located a few miles away from Dodamgoda junction in the Kaluthara district, Thudugala Ella is a natural stream pool loved by many foreigners as well as locals, which has made it to the list of “the most popular waterfalls in Sri Lanka”. The speciality in this waterfall is that it is only around eight meters in height, but is located in the middle of an estate once owned by the British. A wrecked British country house is still visible at the site. Another fascination that makes its visitors wonder, is the tunnel that runs under the waterfall and opens up on the top at a side of Thudugala Ella.
It is a heart wrenching sight to see such a wonderful resource being constantly polluted by the visitors who come there for their leisure. This did not go unnoticed by our club and as the first phase of our “Green Dream” we decided to initiate a project to clean Thudugala Ella.
The project was chaired by Rtr. Charith Kumarasinghe and Rtr. Chamini Abeysekara and it took place on the 28th of October 2016. A well-aimed committee started off from the Pettah bus stop, came all the way to Thudugala with the vision of cleaning the surroundings of the waterfall. It was a great pleasure to have our fellow Rotaractor Vimukthi Bandara of Rotaract Club of NSBM, who joined in to be a part of our Green Team.
Liquor bottles, beer cans and polythene waste thrown all over and left behind by the visitors at this beautiful creation of Mother Nature was indeed a painful sight. After cleaning the surrounding, we took steps to display a notice on safeguarding the beauty of Thudugala Ella, encouraging everyone who visits to keep the area clean. We also installed dustbins at places where people usually relax in their visits to Thudugala.
This wholehearted project ended with a wonderful session of fellowship where all the participants had the chance to take a dip in the waters of Thudugala and enjoy its beauty to the heart’s content.
I’m a green lover who loves to enjoy the environment and I strongly believe in respecting and keeping the environment clean. The best part of being a member of this project was the opportunity of enjoying the serene beauty of Thudugala and creating treasured memories.
This project was indeed a fantastic experience and I hope that all of you would join with the RCUOCFMF’s “Green Dream” in its future endeavours.
Written By-
 |
Rtr. Uvini Liyanage Club Member  |
Clicks By- Neranga Bamunuarachchi
