Environmentalists and religious dignitaries including Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, are cranking up pressure on the government to abandon a mega project to be implemented at the expense of a section of the Muthurajawela wetland. The incumbent dispensation apparently has a ravenous appetite for ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands, forest reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. A state minister tried to clear a mangrove forest in Negombo to build a playground. He would have succeeded in his endeavour but for an intrepid female Forest Officer, named Devani Jayathilake, who stood up to him. In a bid to scoff at her concern for air quality in the area, he demanded to know whether oxygen could be ‘eaten’—