|
|
|
| Sunday, 31 July 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Dry Zone in grip of severe drought From Elmo Leonard in Polonnaruwa Sri Lanka's Dry Zone which covers half of the island is in a severe grip of drought while rain is expected in October. Many waterways in the Rajarata have dried up and next would be the rivers. The giant tanks which store water for agriculture such as the Parakrama Samudura, Minneriya (tank), Sorabora and Girithale have their water levels falling. The Department of Agriculture is painstakingly controlling the quantity of water let out from each tank on a weekly basis. If water in the tanks go dry, it would deal a heavy blow to the socio-economy of the people of the dry zone and to the national economy at large. But the giant tanks are yet supplying water, while the yala harvest is over a month away. The island's East, which was the `rice bowl of the island' before a civil conflict broke out over 20 years ago is back in cultivation; made possible by irrigation. Polonnaruwa is always in the news because when there is too much rain, invariably the tanks overflow and the rice plants are washed away. When too little rain falls, it may not be possible to irrigate the rice fields. When the rains are not too much, the factor of crop supply could be tilted against the farmer. Many Sri Lankan economists do not advocate the cultivation of rice in every possible rice field in the island, on the basis that other crops give higher returns. A farmer who shares this concept P.E. Jayasena is in unison with the other five members of his family. Jayasena, a second generation colonist is one of 800 farmers settled in Jayanthipura, Thambalawewa, sandwiched between Minneriya and Polonnaruwa. He shares three acres of paddy land and an acre of `dry land' with his brother, Jayatissa. They have to share their produce with their mother. The Thambalawewa gets its water from the Girithale tank which is dependant on the Mahaweli river. To beat the drought, Jayasena converted part of his rice field to the cultivation of tobacco and gherkins. Jayasena was away with his crop of gherkins, which he supplies to Sunfrost Ltd, Polonnaruwa, where the product is canned for export. His 14-year-old son Lakshman Harshakumara had made a bee line from school to join his mother and 19-year-old brother Nishantha Nuwan in the cultivation of tobacco, which is purchased in Minneriya. These crops give better returns than rice. Childhood for Lakshman and his 12-year-old sister Sasika Sandamali is largely sans play, a sacrifice they make to play a part in the national economy. Nishantha, a school dropout toils all day for the same purpose. When not in the field he is busy turning out coconut ladles (spoons) for the retail sale. Their mother Pathmini Abeyweera, a third generation settler, here, rears poultry and weaves hats from the reed, she cuts in the jungles. Jayasena purchased a multi-purpose hand tractor, paying Rs. 45,000, plus a bank loan of Rs 80,000 in three years, counting six instalments. Earlier he got a loan of Rs. 10,000 by way of the Janasaviya scheme, and purchased a motor-cycle, which he used to sell ice cream, but the trade flopped, while his motor-cycle is used to transport produce. Jayasena pays Rs. 175 per harvest, so he would receive a pension of Rs. 1000 per month on reaching 60. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
