News
In drought-affected Puttalam, water is lost through faulty sluice gate at Tabbowa tank
View(s):Text and photos by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
At the Tabbowa irrigation tank, a malfunctioning sluicegate is resulting in a loss of large volumes of water, despite a renovation of the tank at a cost of millions of rupees.
With the Puttalam district facing severe drought conditions, the Tabbowa tank is a major source of water for the region. Therefore, the loss of water is a serious setback for the farmers and residents of the Anamaduwa area.
They have complained that the sluice gate fitted to the left bank of the tank during its renovation cannot be properly closed down, causing the tank to lose a large amount of water daily.
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- The Tabbowa Tank: Although renovated in 2012 at a cost of Rs. 199 million, large volumes of water is wasted due to a defective sluice gate
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- Farmers blame the Irrigtion Department for the poor maintenance of the tank
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- A.H.M. Piyasena
The farmers explained that the government spent over Rs 199 million in 2012 to renovate the left and right sluicegates and the tank bund (Wewkanda) as well as lay stones at the wave breaker (Ralapanawa), yet the left bank sluicegate had started to malfunction after the renovation, causing loss of tank water.
“The sluice gate cannot be properly closed; it is a shame that the sluice gate did not last for at least 10 years after the renovation,” a farmer complained.
The renovation was done by a leading construction company.
Farmer associations blamed the company for not doing the renovation properly, which had caused the sluice gate to malfunction.
The tank, which has a water capacity of 15,400 acre-feet, supplies water for nearly 2,500 acres of paddy land during both the Yala and Maha cultivation seasons.
Irrigation officers said that they had carried out repairs on many occasions to make the sluice gate operate properly, yet their efforts were in vain.
The Farmer Associations said the renovation has not fulfilled its purpose and has only been a massive waste of money. They said it was a shame that the perfectly functioning sluice gate was removed by heavy machinery for weeks and a new poorly functioning sluice gate was set up in its place, which malfunctioned from the day it was fixed.
The farmers pointed out that under normal circumstances, the tank water is released on a schedule, but currently the paddy fields are always getting water as the sluice gate fails to be kept shut properly.
The farmer associations also added that even though the water levels at the tank keep reducing, Irrigation Department officials have not given attention to it.
Puttalam District All-Island Farmers Federation Secretary A.H.M. Piyasena said: “It is now evident that the irrigation officers who control the water release from the tank are unable to close the left sluice gate of the tank and control the water flow.”
He said that they were sceptical of the irrigation officials’ actions when it was time to close the sluice gates, ending the release of water to paddy fields.
He said that allowing the water in the tank to flow without reason would make life difficult for farmers and people using the water for drinking purposes. It also affected the animals in the vicinity of the Tabbowa reserve.
A farmer as well as a retired government official, O.L. Sunil, said the Tabbowa tank, which is considered the oldest tank in Puttalam, was built during the period of King Agbo. It was later maintained by the Irrigation Department.
He pointed out that the loss of water would affect the farmers and the fishermen who fish in the tank. Mr. Sunil elaborated that the waste of water during a drought period is a great loss. Therefore, they are calling on the authorities to fix the sluice gate as soon as possible.
The Irrigation Department’s Puttalam District Director, K. Subramaniyam, said that there were issues with the doors of the sluice gates; therefore, the sluice gate door, which was fixed to the tank, has been removed and sent for repairs. He said they are planning to fix the repaired door soon.
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