Delft Island turns into a major tourist attraction

by Ranil Wijayapala

Horses and ponies roaming freely, the main attraction

Stables

Ancient pigion cage

Garment factory, the first employment generating venture

The chirpy waters of the Indian ocean greets us with its spray on our face as we walked on along the Kurikadduwan jetty towards the water jet of the Sri Lanka Navy that was awaiting to take us to the remotest inhabited island belonging to Sri Lanka, Delft or the island of Neduntheevu as people in Jaffna called it.

After 40 minutes drive from the Jaffna town on the bumpy roads across Velanai and Punguduthivu causeway we reaced Kurikadduwan jetty or famously known as KKD jetty among the Naval community. The jetty is famous among the southern people also as it is frequently used by them to reach famous Nagadeepa temple in the Nainatheevu island.

Though thousands of people visit Nagadeepa or Nainatheevu islands on a daily basis, the island of Delft is out of reach for many of them, may be due to the lesser frequency of the ferry services to the island and also due to a journey through the rough seas of the Indian ocean unbearable for ordinary people when the sea is rough.

But the accessibility to the island has been improved recently with the re-launching of the Vada Tharaki-II passenger vessel from Kurikadduwan Jetty to Delft Island as a joint project by the Road Development Authority and the Sri Lanka Navy. The service had been abandoned due to terrorist activities and re-launched in May this year to provide free transport facilities for the islanders.

In the absence of the Vada Tharaki II, two other ferry boats are operated one owned and run by Delft Co-operative society and another by a private owner.

To take the real feeling of a sea voyage and the true sense of living in an island far from the mainland one has to visit the island in a normal ferry boat along with hundreds of people using the boat for their daily travelling to the main island. Though a speedy water jet takes only ten to 15 minutes for ten kilometres journey from KKD jetty the normal ferry boat takes 45 minutes to one hour to reach the destination.

Despite the difficulty in travelling, many tourists both local and foreign specially the Dutch are keen on visiting the island as the trails of the colonial influence on the island still exist in the island. But one can observe how the population in this island live harmoniously with the Sri Lanka Navy who have become their life time partner for decades.

Once a habitat only for the people living in the island who mainly depended on the supplies that came through Sri Lanka Navy are now enjoying a new lease of life and day by day improving their living standards in the peaceful environment that prevails in the island.

The green pastures are slowly rising to replace the dried grass and mossy on the usually scorched earth spread on the layers of lime stones in the island as the rainy season has just begun there.

The island that was protected by the Sri Lanka Navy during three decades long armed conflict still experience the harmonious living with the Sri Lanka Navy as the main supplier to the island.

‘SLN Vasamba’, the Navy base which was confined only to a small building during the war has now developed in to a storeyed building and rise majestically facing the pier that links the island with the rest of the peninsula through sea.

Unrestricted movements are there in the island and civilians now enjoy the full freedom of their life without waiting to get clearance for their entry to the island at the entry point to the island a memory that I had in mind during my first visit to the island in the peak of the war in 2008. Though it was confined to the people living there during the war, many people are now visiting the island to enjoy the life there and to see the historic colonial roots in the island. The ‘Dimo Batta’ lorry waiting close to the pier is one mode of transport for the visitors to the island which spans nearly eight kilometres stretch.

If the group is big there is another alternative arrangement to hire the bus which is run by the Road Development Authority to travel across the island and to return to the pier to catch the ferry from Delft to KKD.

The ‘Growing Stone’ which the Hindus believe represents the God ‘Eeshwara’ and worshipped by the devotees at an annual festival organised by the nearby Kovil is a centre of attraction in the island.

The Delft island represent the harmonious living of human being and the animals as one part of the island is dedicated for the wild horses and ponies roaming freely in the island. These wild creatures are living harmoniously with the people sharing the resources available in the island.

As the dry season comes, the Navy personnel in the island used to provide water for the wild horses and also the cows after filling the tanks created in certain locations of the island. That enables these wild creatures survive during the dry weather. But many wild horses, ponies and cows can be found dead during the dry season but with the start of the rainy season in September lot calves of ponies and wild horses can be found in the greener pastures.

Both human beings and the animals depend on the fresh water supply at ‘Devil’s Well’ the only fresh water source in the island and Navy personnel assist both animals and the human being to get their required drinking water from them.

The giant ‘baobab tree’ with a cave type inside for five to six people to stand comfortably, the old stables of the Dutch era and the giant foot prints are places worth visiting in the island.

The ancient Buddhist ruins at one end of the islands and the recent discovery of two inscriptions by the Maritime Archaeology Unit of the Central Cultural Fund has increased the archaeological value of the island.

The roots of the Dutch era is visible clearly in the island with scattered ruins of Dutch Fort and Court House located in the premises of the Delft hospital.

The civilians are having humble living after cultivating their barren lands once a year and producing palmyrah toddy, kottakilangu and other handicraft from the Palmyra tree as their living. But many of them are now depending on the money coming from the relatives living abroad.

Though situated far from the Jaffna peninsula no one need to worry about the power supply as the CEB run generators are providing 24 hour power supply to more than 4,500 population living in Delft.

To provide power supply for the islanders the Sri Lanka Navy has embarked on a project to supply electricity for many households in the island.But many of the fishermen living there in the island are raising their voice against the Indian fishermen poaching into their territory as they are losing major fish catch three days of the week.

The garment factory run by the Sri Lanka Navy to produce Navy uniforms is the only employment generating venture in the island. Started in August 2011, the factory continues to supply jobs for nearly 50 youth in the delft island. It enables the youth to earn a minimum of Rs.12,000 monthly salary. The youth who have not even seen a garment factory in their life have been trained by the Navy after sending them to a factory in Galle to be employed in the factory.

As more and more tourists are arriving in the island to have the unique experience of a voyage in the sea and the real experience of island living, Delft is opening up opportunities for a booming tourist industry with its scenic beaches.

The cabanas coming up there in certain locations in the island give positive signals that island will no longer be an isolated one from the mainland and create more links with the people in near future.

Pix : Thilak Perera