A voluntary organisation, Saviya Development Foundation, in its report on a survey it conducted, said that the majority of the prostitutes operating in the Galle town are consuming dangerous drugs such as heroin.

In a separate survey conducted by the organisation, it had tested 16 prostitutes where it was established that eight of them were drug addicts, Thushara Senanayake, deputy Director of the NGO said.

He said number of prostitutes operating in the Galle town had increased drastically and if the authorities don’t take appropriate action to curb it immediately, it would reach alarming proportions.

"There about 15 prostitutes hanging around the Galle bus stand at any given time during the day and unfortunately authorities have turned a blind eye to it," he noted.