Drought in Vavuniya: 350 tanks dried up

The prevailing drought in the Vavuniya district has resulted in some 350 small tanks in the district completely running dry. The water level in many of the major tanks is also dropping at an alarming rate. 

Heavy rains are normally experienced in the district during the first days of October. However, these rains are yet to fall this year. As such, nearly half of the 600 tanks in the district have already run dry. 

This has created severe difficulties for both people and animals. Farmers who rely on the rains to commence farming for the season are among the worst affected. 

Residents say there is the danger of almost all the tanks in the district running dry if the rains fail to materilize by the end of this month. 

Story and Pix by Romesh Madhusanka 

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