Archives

by Mallika Wanigasundara

It is an unusual way to offer merit to the dead, or accumulate merit for yourself. But what is important is that it will help our struggling farming population to fill our granaries, improve their quality of life protect the environment, conserve water and rehabilitate whole villages.

What you have to do is rebuild a small tank or rehabilitate one is the name of a dead loved person and name it after him or her. Or you could build the tank in your name. It is indeed an alms giving of a different kind when you feed large numbers of people. There are many people who have rebuilt around sixty small tanks outside the north and east in this manner. This is the aim of the 'Dahasak Wew (a thousand tanks) project of the Swarna Hansa Foundation started about two decades ago.

It would cost you one or two lakhs to rehabilitate a small tank. Families could pool resources.

The Swarna Hansa Foundation (SHF) is an organisation started by Gallege Punnywardene Alwis who is now Program Executive of the organisation. The Dahasak Wew project was started two years ago. It is dedicated to change the scenario of neglect and decay and lack of understanding of agricultural practices in this country. Sri Lankan agriculture is suffering from the chaotic meddling maladroit interference by the colonialists and muddled, ad hoc patching up by successive governments after independence.

Sri Lanka in ancient time had around 100,000 small reservoirs. The big reservoirs fed the small tanks in the villages, a most essential element of the agricultural network, says Mr. Gallege Punnywardene.

They nourished vibrant agriculture and gave the country a surplus of food. There was no heavy machinery, no bucket lifters then. Digging and dredging of silted tanks was done by manpower alone. Stone upon stone spadeful of soil upon spadeful of soil were packed by human hands to build the bunds and anicuts. Small tanks were the life-giving earthern bowls of water which fed the villagers and the farmers had a stake in keeping them in good repair. It was their responsibility to look after the tanks.

Mr. Punnyawardene says that recent archaeological finds show that there was canal liking Hambantota to Batticaloa for the transportation of rice from Hambantota to Batticaloa.

Today Hambantota is the home of the desperate drought stricken farmer. There are only 10,000 to 12,000 tanks in working condition now. After the rebellions the British deliberately breached hundreds of tanks leaving the farmer to starve. Misguidedly, says Mr. Punnyawardene, the British abolished the Rajakariya system without putting anything in its place.

After that episode the small tanks belonged to nobody and they fell into disuse. The sluice gates broken down, the canals got clogged and the bunds collapsed and were washed away.

This then is the aim of the SHF - to go back to that system and resurrect the old priorities. The SHF was registered as in 1983 and recognised as an approved charity also in 1983 by Act 9/82/48. The SHF has been invited by international development bodies to share its experience.

By what we are doing we are not only driving away hunger and poverty but following the traditions of the past which kept this nation healthy, says Mr. Nanda Amerasinghe who with his wife Suwineetha have helped to rebuild a small tank. Ms Senehilatha Amerasinghe Chairperson of Carmart has donated Rs. one million towards this project. Ms. M.N. Dias has helped to rebuild the Diyes Wewa and Ms. Swarna Ameratunge has reconstructed a wewa in the name of her son the late Chanaka Ameratunga. There are many others too.

The Sangha understands this project very well. Temples, go out to the villages, they say. 'Do not wait till people come to the temple', says the Ven. Madana Jinaratane, Chief Incumbent of Nawagamuwa Raja Maha Vihare. The Sangha must understand that if the temple does not work for the welfare of the village we will see the demise of Buddhism and our civilisation will be swept away. There are many temples which can help to reconstruct one or two tanks, he says.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager