One side has water, the other is denied
A Farmer points to the sluice gates of the Hakwatuna Oya reservoir that had several leaks. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Nikaweratiya: Deduru Oya running dry
By Sandun Jayawardana reporting from Kurunegala and Puttalam-Sunday, March 27, 2016
The drought setting in is set to create a major water crisis, particularly for farmers as they prepare for the coming Yala cultivation season.
Water levels in tanks and reservoirs are dropping.
A visit to the Kurunegala and Puttalam districts provided a glimpse of the hardships faced by the farmers and residents.
The ancient Hakwatuna Oya reservoir lies some 45km from Kurunegala town and is the second largest in the province after the Deduru Oya reservoir. Constructed by King Mahasen in the 4th century AD, Hakwatuna Wewa was restored by the Irrigation Department in 1964. There are 14 divisions of farmer settlements in the area and a total population of about 30,000.
When the Sunday Times visited the Hakwatuna Oya area this week, farmers were holding their harvest festival, or Aluth Sahal Mangalya.
This gathering, in the shadow of the Hakwatuna Oya reservoir, was significant for another reason: farmers’ representatives of all 14 divisions, and local officials from the Irrigation Department had gathered there to reach an agreement on when to open the sluice gates of the reservoir to enable paddy cultivation for the Yala season.
Officials and farmers had both expected rains by the end of March. “We decided at the harvest season meeting on March 15 to release water to the farmers on March 25. We were working on the assumption that there would be several days of heavy rain in between. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any rain up until now,” said P.K. Sriyananda, Resident Project Manager of the Hakwatuna Oya Irrigation Scheme.
In the light of this situation, the officials told the farmers that water could only be released to one part of the Hakwatuna Oya Scheme. The meeting held after the Aluth Sahal Mangalya was meant to decide on which part that would be.
