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| Sunday, 1 August 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Kawatiwatta re-visited : New dawn for forgotten people by Dr. Granville Fernando When I visited Kawatiwatta some time ago, this 50-acre island, perched on the northernmost tip of Chilaw and surrounded by the gurgling waters of the Hamilton Canal, was a veritable quagmire where man and beast vied with each other for space. A little girl was trying to feed herself and her siblings with a half broken plate of leftover rice and `kiri-hodi' while a few goats were licking the remnants off the dirty plate. Water was a real problem. Standing on the verge of the canal, I saw young girls wade across the canal waters with large earthenware and aluminium pots in a bid to cross over to the mainland, where there were a tap or two for public use. In case of illness, they had to visit Chilaw Hospital, which was far away. There are a number of stories of pregnant women giving birth in mechanised boats as they tried to cross over to the mainland. Very often, while going to `town', residents had to take an extra dress or suit with them; as they waded across the canal, the dresses they are wearing would get wet, they would then change into the other dress, hang the wet clothes on a barbed wire for drying, then continue with their journey. They all lived under trees or temporary makeshift cadjan huts. The situation was desolate and despondent till the present government started moving things. A bridge to join the isolated colony with the prosperous mainland was the only solution. The first sod for the new bridge was cut by Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. Man and machinery started moving fast. Efficient engineers were detailed. The construction engineer, being a son of the soil, took special interest in the project and soon the bridge was ready Broad roads almost 25 feet wide soon crossed and criss-crossed the entire settlement. Electric wires ran across the entire settlement bringing electricity to the area at night, it was no longer dark. It goes without saying that there was no place for any nefarious activities with these new developments. The lack of pipe-borne water, a problem for the colony for a number of years, is now no more. There are now a number of public pipes to serve the comunity while the more affluent opted to have their own water connections. On the whole, the colony now lives happier and more contended lives. Most of them are fisher folk, labourers and odd job men who now earn an honest living. The 140-feet long bridge is now always full of traffic and children also find it easier to go to school now. A number of semi-permanent houses have come up already, adding colour and lustre to the entire scheme. Kawatiwatta should be more than thankful to the Government for this new dawn. |
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