Deduru Oya Reservoir Project commissioning, a landmark event
By P. Krishnaswamy
With major works of the Rs.9.5 Billion multipurpose Deduru Oya
Reservoir Project having already been completed, the impounding will be
done in the first two weeks of February 2014, followed by the release of
water to the farmers a few months thereafter, Project Director Eng
B.A.S. Sunil Perera told the Sunday Observer.
Commissioning of this largest ever reservoir project for the province
will be a landmark event in the life of the people of the region,
especially the farmers and the rural communities, he said. Over 30,000
acres of arable lands situated in Karuwalagaswewa and Kotawehera DS
divisions will get irrigation facility, contributing to the increased
production of paddy and other highland crops, he said.
The other salient features of the project as provided by the Project
Director are given below.
The project site is located within the Maho, Wariyapola and
Ganewaththa Divisional Secretary areas in Kurunegala District.
Construction of the concrete spill structure and the hydro power station
of 1.5 MW has been completed. The Deduru Oya is the sixth largest river
in Sri Lanka which is about 142 km in length and has a water resource
area of about 2,420 km. The objective of the project is to prevent about
1,000 billion sq. metres of water flowing out to the sea for the use of
productive purposes. History bears witness to the fact that during the
reign of King Parakramabahu the Great, dams were built at three
locations basing the Deduru Oya and the water was used for irrigation
purposes. The Ministry of Power and Energy is in charge of the 1.5
megawatt power plant. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board has
constructed the water treatment plant to provide drinking water to over
50,000 families. Payment of compensation to the families that got
displaced has been completed 95 percent and compensation for the
remaining families who were displaced from the LB and RB canal areas
will be completed in the near future.
Ninety-eight percent of the works relating to the resettlement of the
families have been completed. Provision of infrastructure facilities at
the resettlement locations such as Peterweli Estate (Ganewaththa DS
division), Thelahera (in Kobaygane DS division) , Polgammana (in
Wariyapola DS division) and Radavibendi Ela (in Karuwalagaswewa DS
division) have been completed 75 percent. Over Rs.1,500 Million has
already been paid as compensation to the families who got displaced.
Seventy percent of the work on the 36 Km Right Bank Trans-basin Canal
has been completed and work on completing the remaining area is in
progress. The canal which feeds the Inginimitiya reservoir is
concrete-lined and its discharge capacity is 300 cubic feet per second.
Infrastructure
About 15,000 agricultural families will be directly benefited under
this project while about 50,000 families will be indirectly benefited.
The storage capacity of the reservoir is 75 MCM. Infrastructure
facilities to the people of the Maho, Wariyapola Karuwalagaswewa and
Ganewaththa Divisional Secretary divisions include road networks,
electricity, schools and clean drinking water which will immensely
contribute to the improvement of their quality of life. Everything,
beginning from conducting the feasibility study to designing the various
components of the reservoir construction, was done by engineers of the
Irrigation Department and this is considered to be a unique achievement
of the Sri Lankan engineers.
The main problem hitherto faced by farmers in the Deduru Oya and Mee
Oya basins is the non-availability of assured water supply for the
agricultural areas since the basins are predominantly situated in the
dry zone of the country. The water available with the rainfall and
collected in the existing irrigation schemes is not sufficient for two
season cultivation. Seventy percent of annual rainfall in the Deduru Oya
catchment flows to the ocean without being utilised in any way to serve
the needs of the local population. As a result an optimal level of
agricultural development has not been achieved. The Deduru Oya Reservoir
project, on completion, will resolve all these problems while bringing
many more benefits.
Security
The project will invariably contribute to consolidating the national
plan of food security in the country. The project will attract a tourist
flow to the project site and the surrounding settlement areas. The
productivity of not only paddy but also other highland crops, including
vegetables and fruits, will increase many fold contributing further to
the socio-economic betterment of the agricultural families. The
necessity of development programs for the benefit of the population of
the dry zone and intermediary zones in Sri Lanka arose due to many
reasons but mainly owing to the food security of the people. The lack of
food security arose due to disruption of agrarian systems, land
fragmentation, lack of irrigable land, indebtedness of the farmers and
poor post-harvest technology. The backbone of the population of the dry
zone and the intermediary zones of Sri Lanka is based on agriculture
with almost 85 percent of them depending on it for their livelihood.
Nearly two-thirds of the land area of the country comes under the dry
zone, an area with low annual rainfall and pronounced dry season. The
dry zone is mainly rural, with many households relying on agriculture
for their livelihood. However, the contribution that agriculture makes
to household income has been declining and poverty and unemployment have
been on the rise. The development and improvement of the water resources
in the dry zone is necessary to obtain the efficient and maximum
utilisation of the vastly available land resources of the area.
Therefore water storage and proper management for successful irrigated
cropping is a prime requirement for agriculture development.
There has been a marked progress in the production of rice and other
crops under the Mahaveli Development programs and other multipurpose
irrigation and water supply projects implemented under the 'Mahinda
Chinthana' concept. The projects had also contributed to rural
development, health care services and socio-economic uplift of the local
communities. The Deduru Oya multipurpose reservoir project is one more
jewel in the chain of many such mega multipurpose reservoir projects
implemented under the 'Mahinda Chinthana'. Many more similar projects
are under implementation in the country to ensure efficient and maximum
utilisation of the vastly available land resources and the improvement
of the standard of live of the people.
By 2020, the irrigation sector will become a key driving force in
agricultural development with the supply of water in adequate, equitable
and reliable quantities and in a sustainable, efficient and eco-friendly
manner.
In the pictures are different stages and sites of the Deduru Oya
project in progress |
