Paddy fields extending across 500 acres in Galgamuwa in Bibila have been deserted for 17 years without being irrigated. Members of 200 farmer families in the area pointed out that although the construction of the Kiri Oruwa Tank was completed in 2003, the canal has not yet been constructed to irrigate paddy fields.
The farmers said the Uva Provincial Council - Irrigation Ministry constructed the tank with foreign funds to irrigate 500 acres of paddy fields owned by 200 farmer families to cultivate in both Yala and Maha seasons.
The farmers said the tank was constructed by building a bund between Viyanhela and Thalawinna mountains, blocking the Galgamuwa Ela which provided water to cultivate these paddy fields before the construction of the tank.
The farmers pointed out that even those canals that provided water from the Galgamuwa Ela to the paddy fields earlier have been abandoned following the construction of the tank.
They also said since 2003, only 50 acres of paddy fields have been able to be cultivated during the Maha season.
The farmers said the paddy fields and the canals have been overgrown with bushes and thickets. They also said although they brought the matter to the notice of the Good Governance Government, they turned only a deaf ear.
They hope the incumbent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would attend to this matter and solve the issue within a short period, paving the way for them to cultivate their paddy fields.
They said it would be supportive to the President’s poverty alleviation endeavour as well.
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