Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and State Minister of Mahaweli Development Mahinda Amaraweera says that by the year 2020, more projects will be implemented under the Mahaweli Development Program at a cost of over Rs. 10 billion.
The Minister made this observation addressing a progress review meeting at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development yesterday (26).
He said the President Maithripala Sirisena as the Mahaweli Development Minister has launched several projects in the Mahaweli areas as well as implemented a special program to provide drinking water and water for cultivations to the people in the Northern Province.
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In particular, the transport of water from the Moragahakanda reservoir to the North through the Uthuru Ela project will be commenced and water supply will begin soon resolving the problems people in Northern Province were facing for a number of years with the scarcity of drinking water and irrigation water.
“We will also implement many new projects exceeding Rs. 100 billion in 2018,” the Minister said adding that 2400 small tanks in the island will be renovated and under that project irrigational water will be provided to thousands of acres of paddy lands that are not cultivated now.
The Minister explained that a large number of small reservoirs have not been renovated for a number of years and therefore those tanks are not filled to the capacity and even during a light rain the tanks overflow. Similarly even in a short drought, the tanks get dried up and crops are damaged. As a measure taken to prevent this, 2400 reservoirs will be rehabilitated, he said.
