News
Nuwara Eliya suffers in treacherous conditions
For two weeks now, the rough, wet weather has been causing severe hardships to Nuwara Eliya residents and their cultivations.
More than 2,000 people have also been displaced in the district during the past week due to rains and strong winds.
Some people are using heating to dry their washing, while others who have vehicles, are going out of town to Uva Paranagama, 20 kilometres from Nuwara Eliya, or areas areas near Kandy to dry their clothing and they return by evening.
“People take their clothing to open spaces such as play grounds,’’ a resident said. He said that visitors have declined. August is a ‘mini-season’ for Nuwara Eliya visits, and this year it has not been so.
The director of the Meterological Department, Anusha Warnasuriya, said that the sudden change in the hill country weather was due to recent cyclonic conditions in the Pacific Ocean.
More than 2,000 people have also been displaced in the district during the past week due to rains and strong winds which damaged over 1,000 houses.
Businessman Chandraratne Mallwarachchi, said such disruptive weather had been only seen “some 30 to 40 years back”.
At that time, he recalled: “It rains for one week and then there would be a dry period before rains come again. Then we faced the situation where we could not find alternatives as it is today. We had no electricity then. We had to depend on kerosene oil.
“With the changing weather patterns, the district will be unfit for human settlement unless there is some relief.’’
Businessman S Rajaratnam, said: “I am now 70 years old. We were youngsters about 30 to 40 years ago. We did not feel the climate. Now we are old and we are unable to bear the weather.’’ He remembers how school days were interrupted by bad weather.
The bad weather also adversely affects the plantations and agriculture.
Mohamed Jauffer, marriage registrar of Nuwara Eliya, remembers lives lost because of adverse weather in the district.
“I am 72 years old. I came [to Nuwara Eliya] in 1968. I know that the winds in July badly affected the people here. We experienced similar weather with heavy showers some 20 years ago,’’ he said.
Residents dry clothing in open spaces.
“I recall incidents and accidents where people died due to heavy winds. Once, a tree collapsed and crushed a girl.’’
He also remembers how fireplaces kept the homes warm, while also doubling up as the hearth for families.
“The Timber Corporation distributed wood for the fireplaces. People used warm clothing. We had Indian blankets then. No doubt Nuwara Eliya is glorious, but the poor suffer.’’ The elderly prefer to go to warmer areas, he said.