The prevailing drought and climate have severely affected the paddy and other food crops cultivations in the Anuradhapura district.
Anuradhapura District Irrigation Director S.D. Mediwaka said that under the 13 major irrigation tanks, 69,222 acres have been cultivated with paddy and other food crops in the Anuradhapura district.
He said that under 87 medium scale tanks, the total landscape cultivated during the 2023 Yala is 49,511 acres.
With regard to the issue of water from the major tanks, there is adequate irrigation water to cover the final round of water issues up to the end of August through a thrifty water management mechanism.
Farmer organisation representatives who participated in the Anuradhapura District Agriculture Committee meeting on August 16 at the Anuradhapura District Secretariat chaired by Anuradhapura District Secretary Janaka Jayasundara emphasised that there could a severe drop of water levels in the major and medium scale tanks depriving the farmers of cultivating the planned total extent of landscape during 2023/24 Maha cultivation season.
It is learnt that during one week from 8.8.2023 to 16.8.2023 alone more than 10,000 acres of feet water has evaporated from 13 major tanks in the Anuradhapura district.
The farmers in Anuradhapura Mahaweli H area fear that due to the decreasing water capacity of the Kalawewa tank, there is a danger of the destruction of minimum 25,000 acres of paddy in Eppawala, Thalawa, Galnewa and Nochchiyagama areas.
They have called upon the Mahaweli Water Management Secretariat to issue an adequate water flow to the Kalawewa Tank from the Kotmale Reservoir under these circumstances.
The water levels of the major tanks in the Anuradhapura district are as follows as of August 18.