Authorities ignore major breach on reservoir bund in Mahavilachchiya
from Mahavilachchiya Corr – Saman Vijitha Kumara Source: http://www.island.lk/2008/04/17/news11.html
The major irrigation reservoir, the Maha Villachchiya Mahavewa, is in the danger of destruction as its dam was damaged during the recent rains that fell on the North Central Province. About 5,000 farmer families, who depend solely on the waters of this major reservoir, with a capacity of 23,000 acre feet of water, to irrigate their rice and other crops will be affected if the dam is not repaired immediately farmers told The Island.
About 3,000 acres of paddy are cultivated by the farmers of the Maha Villachchiya area with irrigation from the reservoir. When the reservoir was first rehabilitated, 888 farmer families were settled in the lands below it but today after four generations the number of families had increased to 5,000,
At present about 500 metres of the bund of the reservoir has been damaged by erosion and the threat of the bund being breached badly was pointed out in the press several times before, but the irrigation authorities have not taken steps to repair it.
However, when the local authorities were contacted for a comment they said there was no immediate danger of the dam breaching right now. But the water level of the reservoir had reached spill level with the recent rains. The senior farmers and settlers expressed fears of the worst to come if the dam is not repaired now.
