Water management systems for cultivation to be improved | Daily News

Water management systems for cultivation to be improved

Irrigation Minister chairing the meeting with former Minister Thissa Karalliyadda.
Irrigation Minister chairing the meeting with former Minister Thissa Karalliyadda.

The farmer organizations in Anuradhapura district complained to the Irrigation, Water Resources and Disaster Management Minister Duminda Dissanayake that the irrigation officers didn’t issue adequate irrigational water for their farm lands despite there was sufficient water in the tanks to be distributed.

They charged as a result of this lethargic and irresponsible attitude of irrigation authorities, they were prevented from cultivating irrigable land. These submissions were presented by the farmers at a meeting held at the Rambewa Divisional Secretariat auditorium recently with the irrigation Minister in the chair.

The farmers representing the Padaviya, Mahakanadarawa and Huruluwewa, integrated farmer organization were present at the session along with irrigation officials in the region.

The water issue systems to be followed during the forthcoming cultivation seasons, repairing dilapidated irrigational structures, payment of cultivation losses compensation, the progress being achieved at Yanoya and lower Malwathuoya reservoir projects etc were discussed at the meeting and views exchanged between Minister Duminda Dissanayake addressing the farmers and the officials emphasized that since Irrigation, Water Resources Management and Disaster Management affairs go together, the water management systems could be implemented in a better way if correctly coordinated.

He said that although 100 percent water is issued at upper irrigational level, only 70 percent or less than that is reached at the farmlands. He appreciated that water management technology adopted by Padaviya farmers during 2018 Maha season, where they managed to cultivate the whole landscape of 13,500 acres when the water level at the Padaviya reservoir was 4,000 a.f. out of the normal capacity of 85,000 a.f.

They managed to use every drop of limited rain fall and harvested 150 to 200 bushes of paddy per acre.

In the meantime illegal water tapping along the 65 km long feeder canal carrying Mahaweli water to Huruluwewa reservoir also was pointed out by the farmer organizations representatives to the Minister.

They said that the full water volume being sent through the canal to Huruluwewa for their cultivation purposes was illegally tapped by some tourist hotel owners and large scale business minded cultivators en-route and also water sources being blocked in several tanks such as Habarana, Thalkote etc by the Agrarian Development department.

The habit of waiting till the tank starts spilling to start seasonal paddy cultivation shall be done away with. The farmers and officials shall work hand in hand to achieve a record productivity by minimizing crop failures and compensation following practical water management strategies, the Minister emphasized further.

“Everything is not politics. Politicians try to enhance the number of votes in their favour by hook or by crook, misguiding and hoodwinking the innocent farmers by misinterpreting even the government’s people friendly policies. The JVP’s Namal Karunarathne type is in the caliber of having taken to hypocritical politics. The famer community shall not allow such elements to deceive them”, the Minister appealed.


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