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Lack of equipment hampering Govt. relief effort in NCP
View(s):The lack of bowsers is hampering a Government initiated programme to provide drinking water to thousands of families in the drought-hit Polonnaruwa District.
Upul Nanayakkara who heads the Disaster Management Centre office in the district said the number of families seeking Government assistance has increased to over 40,000 over the past week and the shortage of bowsers was an impediment to sending them adequate supplies of water.
Meanwhile the water levels in all of the major tanks in the district are fast receding while the wells in a number of villages which until recently had water, are on the verge of running dry, according to M.K. Jayatissa, President of the Progressive Farmers’ Federation.
“In my village, we have exhausted almost all the water in the wells,” said Jayatissa who lives in the village of Kaudulla close to the Minneriya tank.
Today the Army has joined in to assist cleaning up the Minneriya wewa where hundreds of dead and rotting fish are visible as the water levels recede and left behind a terrible stench which affects the surrounding areas.
Jayatissa added the lack of water and the dry weather have led to a withering of vegetation which has resulted in a shortage of food supply. As a result more wild elephants were entering villages in the Somawathie Chaitya area.
The water crisis has also affected several hospitals in the district including the Medirigiriya Base Hospital. A medial officer who did not wish to be identified said both patients and staff are affected due to a shortage of water at the hospital.
A water project for the area had been initiated he said, but the work needed to be expedited,” he said.
Meanwhile an official of the Department of Meteorology said there would be no substantial rain in the North Central Province for at least another three weeks. However there would be some intermittent rain he said.
“Since April dry weather has been experienced in the area but we can expect a change in the next two to three weeks,” he said.
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