Yesterday, the farmer’s organization of Helembawewa, has agreed to end their chairman’s four-day long hunger strike due to the water issue, with the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Mr. Manusha Nanayakkara.
The Helabawewa farmers said that they have not received a solution to their water problem from any party yesterday (04), when they met Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, who was participating in the Jayagamu Sri Lanka People’s Mobile Service held at the Pudukudiirippu Public Stadium in Mullaitivu.
The Minister took action to draw the attention of the President and the Minister in charge of the matter.
Accordingly, the Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, who arrived at the place last night, and the Minister of Wildlife, Forest Conservation and Irrigation, Mrs. Pavitra Vanniarachchi, discussed the situation over the phone. During that discussion, it was also assured that the money for the 225 million rupees needed to bring irrigation water to Helabawewa Farming Colony will be allocated in the next budget.
After Minister Manusha Nananayakkara informed the members of Helabawewa Farmers’ Organization about this, they agreed to end their protest. Accordingly, the chairman of the farmers’ organization gave up his fast and handed over all the documents related to his problem to the minister and requested him to bring them to the attention of President Ranil Wickramasinghe. The minister also mentioned that the President’s attention will be drawn to the possibility of allocating money for this soon.
In the year 2013, the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority settled about three hundred farming families in Helambawewa Farming colony and currently about two hundred families are living there.
Under the Yanoya project, the farmers were supposed to be given irrigation water, but due to various reasons, the farmers alleged that the irrigation water was not given properly. Due to this situation, about 200 farming families did not get irrigation water and their crops were not able to grow.
Based on that situation, the farmers of Helambawewa Colony requested the officials to get irrigation water for them from the Yanoya project and the related estimate was prepared with the intervention of State Minister for Rural Economy, Kader Mastan.
But the transfer of water from Anuradhapura district to Trincomalee district was delayed day by day and farmers’ organizations have been protesting against it for some time. The farmers of Helambawewa Colony pointed out that the water from the Yanoya project is came close to their village, and it will cost only 225 million rupees to bring the remaining four kilometers
Minister Manusha Nanayakkara intervened in a problem that had not been resolved for a long time.
