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Unnecessary panic over Gal Oya river overflowing; proactive measures were taken, say officials
View(s):- Say illegal sand mining, bad irrigation and unauthorised agricultural practices that cause flooding will be looked into
- Residents fear lack of maintenance work could cause sudden floods
Erosion on the banks of the Gal Oya River
By Tharushi Weerasinghe
Residents of Senanayakapura and Samapura in Ampara suddenly evacuated on Tuesday (14). Fears of a flash flood caused by the Gal Oya river overflowing forced officials to move them to a temple in the area, where they spent the night.
“We were afraid the flood would come in the night, because of what happened in November last year,” said Pradeep Pushpakumara, a 46-year-old resident from the area.
Mr. Pushpakumara claimed that maintenance work was not being carried out properly. “This makes us feel very unsafe living where we do,” he noted.
Forty families consisting of 137 people were transported to a temporary camp set up in the Ampara Maha Vihara premises where they spent the night before returning the next morning.
“The banks of the Gal Oya River are eroded and temporary repairs using sandbags did not seem to be holding so we evacuated the residents because we thought the bunt might breach,” said Ampara District Secretary Chinthaka Abeywickrama.
Authorities removed sand deposits from the bank on the opposite side of the bunt that was about to give way to make room for the river to flow.
He added, however, that the panic was blown out of proportion. “We were merely taking a proactive measure to avoid a potential disaster – but we have since removed sand deposits from the opposite end of the bank so the water is flowing more normally and there is no further threat to the community.
He also noted that the flooding issues in the area were the result of illegal sand mining, bad irrigation and unauthorised agricultural practices. “We have initiated a long-term solution to the problem with a team consisting of input from the Coastal Conservation Department, the Department of Irrigation, and our office.” The Gal Oya River has been separated into four parts with marked reservations against encroachers and another committee has been formed to come up with a solution to river bank erosion that is causing flood scares.
Forty families were provided temporary shelter for the night
According to irrigation department officials, encroaching along the river bank is a major problem in the area that is weakening the bunts. “The demarcated buffer zone for every river is 60 metres from the bed, but in this area, people are living and farming on land that is just three metres away from the water,” said the Ampara Section Head of the Irrigation Department, Engineer H. B. P. Bandara. As only a sand bar has been left to upholster the river formation the soil is not strong enough against the force of the river’s flow. Engineer Bandara added that collaborations with a district coordination committee were underway to remove encroachers from the low-lying lands of the river basin.
However, He added that the panic caused by the evacuation this week was uncalled for. “There was no flood risk whatsoever at the time because the water levels were about five feet away from danger mark and we were monitoring it.” He also added that the Senanayake Samudraya helps in flood control and that power generation with excess water was happening. “On January 15th, we began power generation at 5 p.m. We don’t open the floodgates arbitrarily and only initiate power production protocols if the water level rises by more than 2 feet a day. Currently, it hasn’t even reached half a foot,” he noted, adding that while rains are expected in the coming weeks, the situation is being closely monitored.
Eng. Bandara added, however, that predictions were becoming more difficult because of the changes caused by climate change. Natural disaster events used to be rarer, but now they have become cyclic, and this is very worrying,” he warned. While the floodgates were not opened this time, he estimated that they might have to soon, but he assured that the necessary protocols to keep people safe would be followed.
Pix and additional reporting by Ganasiri Hettiarachchige
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