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by Andrew Scott

There is no doubt that electricity has turned out to be one of the most essential items in modern Sri Lanka and when it breaks down almost every activity in homes, offices, industries and hospitals come to a standstill or nearly to a standstill.

This shows that today every aspect of our lives is directly controlled by electricity and the present power crisis continuous to bring about untold misery and inconvenience to all consumers throughout the island in addition to crippling the country's weakened economy.

All of us are aware that until recently we had an adequate supply of electricity and there was much hopeful talk to even export it!

However, with an increased number of new industries and factories opening up in Sri Lanka coupled with the excessive household demand fro electricity we do not have sufficient power even for the country's daily consumption and a very weak monsoon weather condition resulting in a severe drought throughout the country has aggravated this situation.

Weather pattern

We cannot deny that something has gone wrong particularly with our weather pattern primarily due to the callous clearing of virgin jungles in the name of development and now we are compelled to face the consequences of an acute and prolonged power crisis. Rather than vainly discussing about the causes for the power crisis it is prudent that we take immediate steps to seek ways and means to conserve our limited resources, even if the situation improves favourably with the arrival of the rains.

Along with the unprecedented clearing of forests for development and other purpose the water resources, particularly in the higher regions of he country, have lessened to a great extent. The only way to maintain these water resources at a satisfactory level is by reforesting the catchment areas with quick growing water retaining vegetation. Of course this will take a considerable period of time, patience and advanced planning.

Quick measures

It is also time that we take quick measures to cut down the demand for electricity in this country. The estate sector should be encouraged to mobilised the services fold turbines and peltons that were used to generate electricity during the good old days.

In designing new dwelling houses and other large buildings care must be taken to see that they are not planned with much dependence on electricity even for ventilation and air circulation. It is well known that today many houses in Sri Lanka are designed with the dependence on electricity for lighting even during the day time as well as for ventilation. If we design houses with a lesser requirement of electricity the country will be greatly benefitted in the ling run. Good examples of neat and well ventilation houses with plenty of natural light can be got form old majestic houses which really have a charm of their own.

Urban population

Specially our urban population have become slaves to the use of modern electrical gadgetry which are not very essential fora comfortable living in a country such as Sri Lanka. For instance in many of our homes we can live comfortably without the use of fans and sophisticated air-conditioners. Isn't it absurd to use fans and air-condition even in places like Kandy and Nuwara Eliya where a cool weather prevails. In Sri Lanka some people use modern electrical gadgets merely to bolster their social status - the more electrical gadgets one owns the better looked up to is he in society. It is time we changed our values and are more practical in our attitudes.

Turn to nature

It s high time we turned to nature without solely depending on electricity for everything. A majority of our home gardens are large enough to be methodically planted with a few shady trees such as mango which would contribute immensely to the coolness, provide shade during sunny days and fruits and appreciably enhance the natural beauty of the garden. If one's home-garden is carefully planned out and thoughtfully planted one can create a very good cooling effect throughout the year. If all our home gardens take up to this idea even the climate of the entire country can be drastically changed.

A sensible idea is for us to get used to simple and inexpensive ways of living without being slaves to electrical gadgets to do even simple household chores. Today the use of electrical gadgetry in most houses has increased unbelievably. To add to this the demand for electricity has swelled with the rapid expansion of the tourism trade, industries, development projects and the garments industry. At the same time it is timely for the state to take some action (through heavy taxes etc) to have a strict control on the use of unwanted electrical equipment.

Encouraging

It is encouraging that some villagers in Sri Lanka are living close to mother nature and though somewhat cumbersome our housewives too should seek new ways and means on how not to rely on electricity for every household chore. If no remedial measures are taken immediately to control the use of electricity Sri Lanka will have to live with the permanent feature of power cuts and we will not have sufficient electrical power to cater to even our household needs.

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