Drought hits Yala paddy harvest:

Water Management program on stream - Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva

By L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

A special water management program to overcome the present water crisis in the Mahaweli and other drought affected areas will be implemented during the Yala season, said Irrigation and Water Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.

He said water should be used with great care until rains.

A task force representing officials of Irrigation Department, Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority, and the Irrigation Ministry will be set up under the new program to look into the problems arising from water scarcity, the minister said. Mahaweli and other irrigation tanks provide water not only for agriculture but also for public consumption in Kandy, Matale, Badulla, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, districts.

The Kotmale tank has water only for one month, the minister said.

He said that he would submit a Cabinet paper seeking relief to the drought hit farmers and agriculture companies as well.

The drought prevailing in the Central, North Central and North Western Provinces has adversely affected agriculture and water resources in the country.

Basawakkulama Tank Pic - Sampath Sanjeewa

Kotmale Gamini Dissanayake Reservoir Pic : Gampola Group

Castlereigh Reservoir Pix : Udeni Rajapaksa

Many major and minor tanks which feed large tracts of agricultural lands have gone dry. The usual intermittent rains proceeding Yala cultivation have not come, Agriculture Ministry Secretary, W. Sakalasooriya said.

He said that the delay in rains for over six weeks has its adverse effects on major and minor irrigation systems in the dry-zone-including the Kurunegala district. According to the Agriculture Ministry Secretary 5,000 ha of paddy land in the Kurunegala district have been completely destroyed due to the drought. The water level of the minor reservoirs in the Polonnaruwa district such as Parakrama Samudra, Giritale and Minneriya tanks had dropped drastically, Sakalasooriya said.

He said that farmers in the Mahaweli H Zone were the worst affected as much of their paddy cultivations had been destroyed. The farm area under the Mahavali H zone is about 39,900 ha and is irrigated by the Kalaweva Dambulla Oya and Kandalama reservoir.

Tissaweva, Nuwaraweva, Rajangana and Mahavilachchiya tanks in the North Central Province could release water for cultivation for a few more weeks.

He said that there is a risk of losing around 600,000 metric tonnes of paddy during the Yala season. Although it had been targeted to cultivate around 450,000 ha of paddy, only 300,000 ha could be cultivated due to the scarcity of water.

The crop targeted 1.25 million metric tonnes. Paddy cultivation in Ampara, Trincomalee and Hambantota has not been much affected by the dry spells, the Secretary said. Polonnaruwa Government Agent – GA – Nimal Abesiri said that cultivation for the Yala season had not commenced under the Elahara project due to the prevailing drought.

Maussakele Reservoir

Nuwaraweva Tank Pix : Sampath Sanjeewa

One hundred thousand acres cultivated in Minneriya, Parakrama Samudraya, Giritale and the Kavudulle tanks areas in the Polonnaruwa district also face a grave situation due to the lack of water, he said.

Water will not be released from the Giritale Tank from today since it has only 1,400 acre feet of water. He said it was not possible to obtain water from the Yoda Ela, water will be available till August 10 for Yala cultivation, he said. Farmers should understand the gravity of this situation and use water sparingly, the GA said.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman, Wimaladharma Abeywickrama said that predictions cannot be made of the future although the CEB provides uninterrupted electricity despite the receding water levels in the reservoirs. "Due to the low rainfall 85.2 percent of the electricity is generated by thermal power while the rest is generated through hydro power whereas it was the reverse earlier, he said.

Due to the increased rainfall in May this year although the generation of hydro power electricity had increased to 23 percent it has now dropped due the drought, he said.

Meteorology Department Acting Director General Lalith Chandrapala said that since the South West Monsoon conditions are currently prevalent, rain can be expected in the South West part of the Island which includes the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central Provinces and in the Matara and Galle districts as well.

Strong winds could be expected in the coastal areas and on the western and central hill slopes. There is the likelihood of light showers in the Hambantota and Puttalam districts, he said.

Heavy rains cannot be expected in the Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Jaffna districts during the south west monsoon. The present weather pattern will continue till October or November this year, Chandrapala said.

The active storage levels have dropped to 20.22 percent in the Victoria reservoir, 30.01 percent in the Kotmale and 30.98 percent in the Randenigala reservoirs.