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Equitable sharing of water is a powerful factor in maintaining peace and harmony among communities
The equitable sharing of water stored in the upper reaches of the Ampara district, which is predominantly Sinhalese, with the Tamil and Muslim communities in the lower coastal area in the Batticaloa district, is a powerful factor in maintaining peace and harmony in the eastern province, Dr. Hilmy Sally, independent irrigation and water management professional recently said at a conference organized by the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL).
Sally who was speaking on how water can be used to promote peace said that Sri Lanka has a historic tradition of this.
“The pinthaliya placed at the village can be considered as a water for peace,” he said.
He pointed out that the Senanayaka Samudraya, Sri Lanka’s largest reservoir located in Ampara, provides water for agricultural and drinking water requirements of all three major communities.
“In early 2000, the water from Nachchaduwa in the Upper Malwathu Oya basin where the Sinhalese live was released to satisfy the water needs of Tamil farmers in the lower Malwathu Oya basin and as a gesture of thanks and goodwill, the Tamil community actively participated in the annual ‘Poson dansela’. These examples show the pivotal role that water can play in promoting reconciliation and long lasting peace, and fostering a common Sri Lankan identity,” Sally said.
Dr. Sally said the Mahaweli Development Project was designed to divert excess water in the Mahaweli River basin to the dry areas of the North Central, Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. However, even after 50 years of the commencement of the project, several sub-projects, especially in the North, have not been implemented.
“So the driest and most water needy areas still wait for water because the North Central Province Canal project has not been established. The North Central Province canal component includes water transfer over 200 kilometres from South to North. 70 percent from gravity transfer from Randenigala Reservoir and the rest through pumping from lower Mahaweli River at Janaranjana Wewa. The implementation has been delayed for several reasons. There are unsubstantiated objections about the cost of water lifting and inadequacy of water for the North Central Province Canal diversion,” he said.
He added that there is also fear among professionals and communities of the Northern Province that the canal command may declare a Mahaweli area which will place the land under the Mahaweli Authority. They believe this will lead to loss of control of lands under the Northern Provincial Council, Sally said.
“The canal project could have lifted the farming communities living in the Northern Province,” he said.
The expert said that Sri Lanka is rich in water resources but has issues with water stress. Sri Lanka also ranks high as a hotspot on the Global Climate Risk Index, specifically in regard to climate change induced risks to water.
“Climate externalities create vulnerability in the country’s water infrastructure and water security. This can lead to severe consequences for lives and livelihoods, especially in sectors like agriculture. There is an urgent need for strategies to move from water risk and conflict to water cooperation and understanding,” he said.
Sally said conflicts and disputes are often brought on by competing interests and not necessarily because there is too little water. Sri Lanka has multiple levels of decentralization and there is also unclear demarcation of roles and responsibilities at each level.
“There is a lack of integrated technological and institutional framework to promote sustainable resource management in Sri Lanka,” he said.
Sally said local communities are not always consulted in decision making about ‘their’ water although these communities ultimately have to bear the costs and impacts of some of these projects. (RK)
The Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard intercepted 02 Indian trawlers poaching in Sri Lankan waters and apprehended eight Indian fishermen, during a special operation conducted off the Delft Island today (08th December 2024.)
The Navy continues to conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing trawlers, taking into account the impact of those practices on the livelihood of local fishermen.
Pat Cummins’ five-wicket haul capped Australia’s dominance in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval as they leveled the series on the third afternoon with a statement win. The end was nigh for India when Mitchell Starc struck in the first over of the day with a perfectly pitched delivery to have Rishabh Pant nicking behind for his overnight score of 28. India folded for 175, a little over an hour into the first session. Needing 19, Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney knocked off the runs within four overs.
India were in danger of conceding an innings win when Cummins was banging one bouncer after another. Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy all fell to short balls from the Australia captain. Much to the delight of the Adelaide crowd, their hero Travis Head pulled off a tumbling catch to dismiss No. 11 Mohammed Siraj, who had become public enemy No. 1 after giving Head a send off on day two.
Australia, though, didn’t need Head with the bat in their second innings as Khawaja and McSweeney applied the finishing touches for them.
Australia’s 25 run drubbing in Perth drew some hot takes, which surprised some of their players, but they produced a near-perfect response in Adelaide to achieve parity and set things up beautifully for the rest of the series.
Cummins, who didn’t look sharp enough with the ball in the first Test, was back to his best in the second. After having hit the top of Rohit’s off stump with the pink new ball under lights on Saturday, Cummins dragged his lengths further back with the older ball, which wasn’t swinging or seaming as much under natural light. He had Ashwin gloving behind and Rana popping up a catch to gully with a nastier bouncer.
Reddy stood up to Cummins and hooked a throat-high lifter over square leg for six, despite two men out on the leg-side boundary. But when Cummins angled one across him from around the wicket next ball, Reddy ramped it straight to fine third.
Reddy finished with 42 off 47 balls – it was the third time in four innings that he had top-scored for India in his maiden Test series. The hosts ended up facing only 81 overs across both innings, which contributed to the shortest pink ball Test in Australia and also the shortest between the two teams.
The Adelaide crowd of 33,184 had more reasons to cheer about when their adopted son McSweeney creamed a brace of fours in the slim chase and then when their favourite son Head bagged the Player-of-the-Match award.
Brief scores:
Australia 337 (Travis Head 140, Marnus Labuschagne 64, Jasprit Bumrah 4-61, Mohammed Siraj 4-98) and 19 for 0 beat India 180 (Nitish Kumar Reddy 42; Mitchell Starc 6-48, Pat Cummins 2-41) and 175 (Nitish Kumar Reddy 42; Pat Cummins 5-57, Scott Boland 3-51) by ten wickets
[Cricinfo]
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has directed rice traders to sell Nadu rice to consumers at a wholesale price of Rs. 225 per kilo and a retail price of Rs. 230 per kilo.
The President also instructed the officials of the Consumer Affairs Authority to closely monitor the situation over the next ten days and strictly enforce the law against rice mill owners who fail to comply with the fixed prices.
President Dissanayake made these remarks during a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, along with rice traders, at the Presidential Secretariat on Saturday (07).
The President highlighted that the largest investments in the country are allocated to the Ministry of Highways, followed by the Irrigation and Agriculture sectors, with substantial subsidies provided to farmers.
The President further pointed out that low-interest bank loans have been provided to traders for the purchase of paddy and urged rice traders not to undermine the public’s right to access affordable rice.
As a result, the following rice prices will be implemented
• Wholesale price of a kilo of Nadu rice: Rs. 225, Retail price: Rs. 230
• Wholesale price of a kilo of white rice: Rs. 215, Retail price: Rs. 220
• Retail price of a kilo of imported Nadu rice: Rs. 220
• Wholesale price of a kilo of Samba rice: Rs. 235, Retail price: Rs. 240
• Wholesale price of a kilo of Keeri Samba: Rs. 255, Retail price: Rs. 260
The President also strongly criticized rice mill owners for frequently changing rice prices on a daily basis and instructed the Consumer Affairs Authority to monitor the daily rice production and distribution by mills.
Furthermore, President Dissanayake urged the rice traders to collaborate with the government in resolving the rice-related issues in an amicable manner.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development A. Wimalenthirajah, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation D.P. Wickramasinghe, Director General of the Department of Development Finance Malarmathy Gangatharan, Acting Director General of the Department of Agriculture Dr. S.K. Wasala, Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority Hemantha Samarakoon, Chairman of the Paddy Marketing Board A.M.U. Pinnalanda, Director of the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agricultural Research and Training Institute A.L. Chandika, among other officials.
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