News
NBRO team conducts field research at landslide risk area of Karandagolla
View(s):- Location an old landslide area where first landslide occurred in 2019
- NBRO DG says situation “will not lead to disaster”; study will determine if there is a link between the landslides and the Uma Oya project, as alleged by residents
By Sandun Jayawardana
The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) is to submit a report detailing short and long term countermeasures that can be taken to mitigate the landslide risk in the Karandagolla, Maliththagolla area in Ella.
Some residents in Karandagolla have alleged that there is a link between recent landslides and the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project. An NBRO team visited the landslide-prone area this week and conducted field research after reports of a renewed risk of landslides that may also pose a risk to the Ella-Wellawaya main road. The team made the difficult trek to the landslide location on Wednesday and installed equipment needed to monitor the landslide situation in the area.
Some temporary measures such as diverting water that was flowing in the area to other places in a bid to minimise inconvenience to the public have already been taken.
The recent heavy flow of water in landslide-risk area has raised concerns. Pix by Prasad Rukmal
Based on observations, the location is an old landslide area and the soil has come from old landslide deposits, NBRO’s Director General Dr. Asiri Karunawardena told the Sunday Times. Dr. Karunawardena was among the officials who visited the area this week. The first landslide occurred in the area in 2019 and it had again become active during monsoon rains late last year, he noted.
Dr. Karunawardena said the NBRO’s scientists needed to study aspects such as the area’s soil profile and water level before coming to a conclusion on the causes for the landslides. Once the team’s research is completed, it will submit a report on the countermeasures to mitigate the landslide risk. It will also determine if there is a link between the landslides and the Uma Oya project.
The USD 529 million Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project was vested with the people on April 24 by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and visiting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The project is generating 120 MegaWatts of electricity to the national grid. It will also facilitate the farming of more than 20, 000 acres of existing and new lands for agricultural purposes while also fulfilling the drinking water needs of residents in Badulla, Bandarawela and Monaragala.
The project’s construction however, was plagued by problems, including a major underground leak in the tunnel. Additionally, there were incidents of cracks developing in houses, drinking water wells running dry, and farmlands running short of water.
A number of families had to be relocated, with the government having to provide drinking water, as well as compensation for affected people.
Some area residents in Karandagolla allege that the current landslide risk in the area has been heightened after water started being channeled through the Uma Oya project’s underground tunnel. Karandagolla is located about 2.5 km from the underground tunnel. Residents claim that the heavy flow of water experienced in the landslide-prone area occurred after water started being channelled through the tunnel.
Dr. Karunwardena though, said they could not come to a conclusion one way or the other until all tests were completed. He however, stressed that the situation “will not lead to disaster” and can be controlled by scientifically implementing short and long term countermeasures.
Authorities informed 13 families in the Karandagolla area to vacate their homes in 2019 due to a serious risk of landslides, said E.M.L. Udayakumara, Deputy Director of the Disaster Management Centre’s Badulla office. “The problem with the landslide risk in the area remains. Some families have been relocated already while others are in temporary accommodation until alternate lands can be found for them,” he added.
The Ella-Wellawaya main road
Five out of the 13 families who were asked to vacate the area following the landslides in 2019 have now been permanently settled in alternate lands, Badulla District Secretary Prabath Abeywardena told the Sunday Times. “We need to find alternate lands for eight other families. Two of those families are to receive alternate lands very soon. We are working to resettle the remaining families as soon as possible.”
Mr. Abeywardena said that the NBRO has informed them that the landslide risk to the Ella-Wellawaya main road has now been contained. He said that so far there hasn’t been a necessity to relocate any other families and that the only families affected by the landslide risk were the 13 that were originally asked to relocate in 2019.
Additional Reporting by Prasad Rukmal – Ella Correspondent
NBRO’s Director General Dr. Asiri Karunawardena and his team at the site
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