Upcountry farmers hit by drought

by P. Rajaratnam in Nuwara Eliya

With the drought in Nuwara Eliya the prices of all varieties of vegetables have dropped and the farmers find it difficult to meet their producing levels, compared to the heavy application of fertiliser and other agro-chemicals.

Vegetables such as potato, leeks, beet, carrots fetch wholesale prices below Rs. 50 per kilogram.

The labour cost has gone up by many folds.

Workers demand around Rs. 500 to Rs. 700 per day.

Meanwhile, due to the acute dry spell, and the water reservoirs dropping, the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council has activated its deep wells to supply drinking water to certain areas within the Municipal limits.

According to Deputy Mayor Krishnasamy Chandrasekaran, his council has taken all possible measures to meet the prevailing situation in addition, alerted the residents to sparingly use the water, thus avoiding watering gardens till such time the weather Gods come to their rescue.