A reservoir in disrepair starves farmers
Farmers who cultivate thousands of hectares of agricultural land in the Kokatiyamaluwa Divisional Secretariat area have been deprived of water from a reservoir located in Hali Ela for more than 40 years due to want of repairs to the sluice gate.
These sluice gates were set up to ensure storage and distribution of rainwater in the village. Despite the fact that they receive adequate rainfall, the malfunction of the water supply has disrupted paddy cultivation.
The existing gates have been damaged for ages and no steps have been taken to renovate river creeks and dredging of channels to release water to avert waterlogging.
K G Karunarathne said “Most of the water is delivered through the Udenigama Reservoir. Our paddy fields get water from there but for many years now the gate has been broken. As a result there is not enough water to cultivate the paddy fields. Even though the reservoir is full, a lesser amount of water is received for the crops because of the defunct sluice gate.”
“The tractor is gassed up, the swather blades are sharp and we are ready to farm. Only one thing is missing. Everything is dry out here, if we don't receive sufficient water in time the crops will be damaged,” K D Simon said, standing on the dry field.
A few years back a contractor maintained the reservoir but it was halted after a while. The reservoir reached low levels this year because of the drought. Farmers watched helplessly as their paddy fields dried up.
R A Gunawathi said “Our crops are dying due to lack of water. This is the only income we have. The water storage during the dry season is not sufficient, and therefore the need for irrigated water is crucial.”