News
Water Hyacinth taking over Nuwara Wewa
The Nuwara Wewa, is the fifth largest tank in the district
Following the recent heavy rains in the Anuradhapura district, a carpet of Water Hyacinth (‘Japan Jabara’) has spread to over 50 acres of the Nuwara Wewa. Residents say the fast-growing plant is likely to cover over half the tank by the end of the year unless urgent remedial measures are taken immediately.
The plant was borne into the wewa/tank via waters from smaller tanks which spilled over during the rains last year and has taken only around four months to cover over 50 acres of the Nuwara Wewa, which is the fifth largest tank in the district.
The invasive plant is also beginning to pose a threat to the livelihood of the tank fishermen.
The tank has a storage capacity of 36,000 acre-feet of water and the invasive plant poses a threat to the irrigation works. It is also a major source of drinking water to the people in the area. The plant also poses a threat to the way of life of the tank fishermen who depend on the tank for their livelihood.
A senior official from the irrigation department charged that a bad situation was being worsened by a navy camp in the vicinity as it was releasing waste material including nitrogen and phosporus into the tank, thereby contaminating its waters. He said the chemicals released from the camp contributed to the alarmingly quick growth of the Water Hyacinth.
Now residents are demanding that Minister of Irrigation Duminda Dissanayake -who is also from Anuradhapura- and under whose purview the irrigation department comes, take greater responsibility to have the tank cleared.
A farmer holds up one of the plants which are clogging the irrigation networks