Commercial Bank backs rainwater harvesting project at Girandurukotte for 25 families
View(s):A pilot project seeking a practical method of combatting the spread of Chronic Kidney Disease of an unknown origin (CKDu) in Sri Lanka’s dry zone has been supported by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon. In a media release, the bank said that based on the premise that harvested rain water would be a viable and healthier alternative to the polluted groundwater believed to be one of the causes of the high incidence of the disease, the project involves the provision of rainwater harvesting facilities to 25 families of Ginnoruwa located in the Girandurukotte area.
The project is managed by ETC Lanka, under the supervision of Agronomist Ranjith Mulleriyawa. It has been estimated that a family of five would need 20 litres of water per day for drinking and cooking purposes, and that a storage structure with the standard eco-friendly features capable of holding 5,000 liters of rainwater would be adequate to last approximately six months to tide over the dry months – May to September – in areas such as Girandurukotte (Mahaweli System C) which receive an annual rainfall of 1200-1500mm.
First diagnosed in the mid-1990s, CKDu is believed to have taken the lives of about 25,000 farmers to date. A single round of dialysis costs the government about Rs 10,000. Because several rounds of dialysis are required each month, the minimum cost incurred by the government in treating a single patient with dialysis amounts to Rs.100,000 a month. Currently more than Rs 400 million is spent annually on the management of renal disease and about 2,000 new patients seek treatment for end stage renal disease each year, the release said.