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Drought devastates North and six other districts
View(s):The entire Northern Province and six other districts have been hit by a prolonged drought, the worst in recent times, causing an acute water shortage. In some areas, drinking water is being sold at a premium averaging Rs 300 for 500 litres. “We are taking steps to deploy district level disaster management units to liaise with the local authorities in the affected areas to cope with the shortage,” Disaster Management Ministry Secretary S.S. Miyanawala told the Sunday Times. He said it would be an enormous task since water resources were not available to cope with an unprecedented drought in many areas.
Besides the Northern Province, the districts affected are Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala and Puttalam. In the Northern Province, where the water crisis has hit all five districts, the Jaffna district is the worst hit. More than 120,000 people have been affected. In the districts of Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mullaithivu, some 80,000 have been hit.
“The situation has been worsening gradually for months since our country received less rain last year. We have taken every possible step to address the issues of the affected people, particularly, ensuring that everyone gets access to drinking water,” he said. Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa visited the North this week to assess the drought crisis in the worst affected areas.
Residents in Pungudutivu, one of the northern islands in Jaffna, said they were paying Rs 300 for 500 litres of water to local authorities who were supposed to distribute drinking water free. A high level meeting was held at the Kilinochchi District Secretariat yesterday with heads of various departments taking part. They discussed the steps that needed to be taken urgently to provide relief to the people.
Kilinochchi’s District Secretary S. Arumainayagam told the Sunday Times he had called for detailed reports from heads of departments such as fisheries, livestock and agriculture for a comprehensive assessment on the drought situation.
Puttalam District DMC’s Deputy Director W.D.S.Rodrigo said that so far 13 of the 16 divisional secretariat areas were severely affected and people were finding it difficult to get water for drinking or basic sanitation. The Kurunagala district is also among the worst-hit areas. According to the DMC, some 150,000 people from 45,000 families have been severely affected, with Galgamuwa suffering the most.
In Anuradhapura more than 50,000 persons have been affected and most of the paddy fields withering without water.