FARMERS TO CULTIVATE 10,500 ACRES OF PADDY DURING YALA, MAHA SEASONS

Yan-oya Project to be completed in August

The project director pointed out that the paddy field that had been cultivated only for the Maha Season for want of irrigation facilities would be cultivated in both the Yala and Maha seasons after the completion of the project

The Ministry of Irrigation expects to complete the Yan-oya project in the Anuradhapura district by August to irrigate 10,500 acres of paddy cultivation for both the Yala and Maha Seasons. Project Director Udaya Hemakumara gave this assurance to Minister of Agriculture, Rural Economic Affairs, Livestock Development, Irrigation, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources P. Harrison during an inspection of the project. The project director said the 18 kilometre long irrigation canal upto Padaviya on the left bank of the project could be completed by next August to irrigate 5000 acres of paddy fields in tracts 7 to 13 with water from the Padaviya Tank.

He told the minister that the construction work of the 12.5 kilometre long south bank irrigation canal from Mailawewa in Trincomalee was 80 per cent complete and that 4000 acres of paddy cultivation could be irrigated by the waters of the Mahalankulama and Nilapanchankulama Tanks. He said 1500 acres of paddy cultivation in Pulmudai could be irrigated using water from the Yan-oya. The project director pointed out that the paddy field that had been cultivated only for the Maha Season for want of irrigation facilities would be cultivated in both the Yala and Maha seasons after the completion of the project. The Residential Engineer of the project said that the water level at the reservoir had now reached full capacity which stood at 138,000 acre feet.

Minister Harrison promised that 300 hectares of paddy land would be cultivated in the area to replace the paddy land lost to the project. He said the farmers in Iswewa and Omaragama in the Anuradhapura district and Kajuwatta, Kohombagaswewa and Malthorawa in the Trincomalee district would receive alternate paddy land and that he had resolved the issues involving land alienation.