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25,000 hectares of paddy land in Sri Lanka affected by drought
Saturday, 23 June 2012 - 10:25 AM SL Time
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The Sri Lankan government says that close to 25,000 hectares of paddy land in the country have been affected by the drought.
Irrigation and Aquatic Resources Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told a press conference that the delay in rains to the dry zone has created a drought situation in the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Kurunegala districts.
He said that nearly 25,000 hectares of cultivated paddy lands are at the risk of being destroyed.
The Minister says it is difficult to supply water from the Mahaweli reservoirs at Polgolla and the Upper Kotmale region to the Kala Wewa, Giritale, and Elahera irrigation system that provide water to the dry zone.
According to de Silva, the government had identified 207,500 hectares under the department of irrigation and 85,000 hectares in the Mahaweli areas to be cultivated this Yala season after taking into consideration the receding water levels in the tanks.
The Irrigation Ministry has implemented a special programme to utilize the farmers in these areas to assist in the renovation and cleaning of the irrigation channels in the Elahera project of the Mahaweli `G` zone, the Minister said.
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