This was revealed by Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam at a meeting of the Urban Heart stakeholders in Colombo yesterday. Urban Heart is a fact finding project jointly implemented by the CMC and the World Health Organization.

Dr. Kariyawasam who presented the findings of a research done in the City of Colombo on physical environment, infrastructure and social development, said Colombo has the highest number of alcohol outlets for every 100,000 population. According to the report Colombo is the city with the highest number of alcohol outlets in Sri Lanka which is thought to be the reason for the high accident rates in the city.

Though it might be perceived that the housing situation is satisfactory in Colombo, being the capital of the country it has been found that a significant portion of the population does not own a house or a property in the city.

The report had suggested that the city’s youth too need positive role models to guide them, while stressing on affordable medical facilities including psychosocial support services to control alcoholism. It has also stressed the need for developing an appropriate transport system as well as a road safety campaign to tackle the high rate of road accidents successfully.

The solution that is being suggested for countries that have a high population density is adopting a proper urbanization plan and focusing on health aspects when approving construction plans. 

People in the City of Colombo are in the forefront when it comes to electricity consumption and usage of fuel. It was also found that Colombo is the city with the lowest birth rate in the country and with the lowest level of malnutrition.(DM)