By Wasantha Kumara and
Kulasiri Amarasinghe
Kalutara is a wet zone district with 26 waterfalls and streams. But today thousands of people in the Kalutara District are waiting for the water bowser to meet their requirements.
The people in the Kalutara District rarely experienced any drought. Instead, floods devastated the district several times a year. It is said that the people who over exploited natural resources are now reaping the harvest.
The Water Resources Board and environmentalists urge the people to use water from streams and even the wells carefully because most of the water resources in the district are drying up.
There are 26 well-known waterfalls in the Kalutara District. Some of them are Makeliya Ella, Athwelthota Ella, Thambadola Ella, Thudugala Ella, Ginigedara Ella, Ahas Bokku Ella, Thotas Ella, Kapuru Ella, Peelithudu Ella and Raja Meruna Ella. There are 10 other unidentified waterfalls too, which nourish the Kalu Ganga.
Kalu Ganga
In addition to the main river Kalu Ganga, nine sub rivers, namely Bolgoda, Magura, Pelanda, Kukuleganga, Athwelthota Ganga, Benthara Ganga and Panadura Ganga also flow across the district.
There are several forest reserves such as Kalugala, Runakanda and Yagirala which have a wide bio-diversity, but threatened by humans. They are formerly part of the Sinharaja rain forest.
All the streams, waterfalls and forest reserves are now threatened due to human activities.
The Kalutara District was famous for rubber plantations. Even the Sri Lanka Rubber Research Institute is situated in Agalawatta.
However, the Kalutara District has been invaded by oil palm cultivation which dries up the soil.
Illegal sand mining
The Kalu Ganga is severely affected by the illegal sand mining. The river bed has been deepened and the banks have been washed away. This has led to the destruction of mangrove swamps. During droughts, salt water flows upstream about 10 kilometres. The water purifying plant in Kethhena provides water to people in areas such as Kalutara, Dodangoda, and Wadduwa.
Today the residents in those areas are compelled to drink salty water. About 50, 000 residents on the river banks cannot use the water for their day-to-day activities.
Sea water flowing upstream started about 50 years ago, the residents of the river valleys say. None of the efforts taken by the authorities succeeded to stop it.
The District Secretary of Kalutara said 411 water tanks have been put up and water is distributed using bowsers by the Water Supply and Drainage Board to 500, 000 members of 63, 000 families with the help of the Disaster Management Centre and the Army.
Human activities
Environmental organizations say the human activities have led to the drying up of water resources. Replacing rubber with oil palm has also been identified as a reason for drought. Closing the gate only after the horse has bolted, the District Coordinating Committee banned the expansion of oil palm cultivation only last month. However, Apehanda Environmental Media Organization has alleged that the existing cultivation of palm oil is sufficient for drying up the land.
The Secretary of the organization Nandana Ariyathilaka said unregulated sand mining in the Kalu Ganga is a more serious problem than oil palm cultivation.
The Regional Manager of the Water Supply and Drainage Board Kamal Senevirathna said the environmental impact report of a new project to prevent sea water flowing upstream had been submitted and it would be implemented soon.
The river bed deepening of the Benthara Ganga has adversely affected 18, 000 acres of paddy lands in Walallawita and Aviththawa.
Tube wells
It was revealed at the District Agricultural Committee of Kalutara that only one of 25 tube wells dug in the 1980s and 1990s still operate. Two third of the water resources in the district are not registered under the Water Resources Board.
The District Secretary has directed the Grama Niladharis to document the water resources in the remote areas and take measures to protect them.
The Kalutara District was resilient even to six months of drought in the past, but now it cannot endure a week of drought. All water sources have gone dry. But three days of rain will cause floods again.
In all the 14 divisional Secretariat areas – hundreds of acres of paddy fields and marshlands have been reclaimed for constructions. Clearing and plotting of land for sale has dried many lands.
Massive granite mining takes place in areas like Neboda, Matugama, Narthupana and Wellatha areas ignoring the concerns of environmentalists and even law enforcement officers. Most of the quarries are in the mountains which are the water resources.
Dry weather
Meanwhile the tea small growers and planters say the situation has threatened the tea cultivation as well. The District Manager of Tea Small Holding Authority D.M.J. Nakandala said the dry weather had affected the tea cultivation. Temperature of 18-25 celsius is necessary for tea cultivation but the present temperature in Matugama and Agalawatta areas is 32-35 celsius. Nakandala said the trend of increasing temperature would adversely affect the tea cultivation.
Not only humans but also land animals and fish are affected due to the prevailing drought. Many varieties of living beings in the district are now extinct. An environmentalist of Runakanda Bio Diversity Friends Organization Lalith Pushpakumara said the fish varieties known as Bulath Hapaya, Dankola Pethiya, Rathu Waral Pethiya, Hora Pandiya, Gal Pandiya, Puwakbadilla, Iri Ankutta, and Hal Mal Dandiya are already extinct.
Birds like Sudu Redi Hora, Kaha Kurulla, Mal Kurulla, Bata Ati Kukula, Pulli Wal Avic-hchiya, Maha Kerala, Lanka Pilalichcha, and Panduwan Bassa are severely threa-tened. Likewise some animals and plants like orchids are also threatened.
Soon the people will really understand the seriousness of the environmental degradation taking place in the Kalutara District, he said.
Source – 02/03/2017 ,Ceylon Today, See more at – http://www.ceylontoday.lk/print20170101CT20170331.php?id=16269
