Yala harvest to offset paddy shortage

by Ranil WIJAYAPALA

The shortage of paddy harvest in the Maha season due to floods can be recovered in the Yala season as the irrigation systems can provide water to cultivate hundred per cent of paddy lands in the Yala season, Director General Irrigation Dr. G. G. A. Godaliyadda told the Sunday Observer.

He said it was the irrigation canals and the minor tanks which have been damaged due to spill of tanks in two rounds of heavy rains reported from seven districts in the first two months of this year.

He said steps have already been taken to make temporary repairs of the canal systems that have been affected by the floods.

"We are doing temporary repairs with the help of the farmer organizations and contractors making use of the funds available for the Department for maintenance purposes", he added.

He said the Irrigation Department expects to complete the repairs to the canal system before Yala season which will begin in April, to help farmers to cultivate their paddy lands.

He said under normal weather conditions only 50 to 60 per cent of the paddy lands are cultivated in the Yala season and with the availability of irrigation water hundred per cent of paddy lands in the Yala season could be cultivated."If there is any shortage of paddy harvest in the Maha season we can recover it from the Yala season", Dr. Godaliyadda said.

According to three agencies maintaining the irrigation network, the Irrigation Department taking care of major and minor tanks, the Mahaweli Authority which maintains the reservoirs and canals coming under Mahaweli project, and the Agrarian Service Department which maintains minor irrigation systems, the estimated damages caused to the entire irrigation system is around Rs. 5 billion.

Dr. Godaliyadda said that the irrigation systems

had suffered a Rs. 2.8 billion damage as a result of the two rounds of floods. The Irrigation Department maintains 59 large reservoirs and 155 medium sized ones and 1,500 kilo metres of main canals.

He said only two medium sized canals have been damaged and there is no damages to large reservoirs due to floods.

"Mainly the canal systems have been damaged due to spilling of tanks", he added.

"The new machinery purchased by the Irrigation Department at a cost of Rs. 400 million helped us to expedite the repair of damaged canals and tanks", he added.