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| Tuesday, 1 July 2003 |
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Weeks after the floodwaters have subsided in the South, German experts are continuing their efforts to rehabilitate the region's drinking water supply. "The rivers have subsided. The emergency phase is over. What remains for us is a major well-cleaning exercise", said Eberhard Halbach, a consultant for the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). According to Halbach, 10 teams of well-cleaners, who have been trained by German experts, are now operating in the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota in a concerted effort to clean up as many of the region's wells as possible. Thousands of wells in the region have been polluted by the floods. As of this week, nearly 300 of these wells were cleaned, with priority being given to wells located in public areas and in schools, enabling more people to have access to pure drinking water. "For the others, we continue to supply about 60,000 litres of purified drinking water every day by bowser", said Halbach, adding that it was being done in cooperation with the local and divisional authorities of the three districts. Earlier, the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on a request made by the German Embassy in Colombo, provided immediate flood relief assistance to the tune of 400,000 Euro. The aid package saw the arrival in Sri Lanka of 15 experts from the German Agency for Technical Support (THW), who were accompanied by a plane load of equipment, which included state-of-the-art water purification machinery and special vehicles to access unreachable areas. The machinery, which is capable of converting muddy water into pure drinking quality water at the rate of 4,000 litres per hour, were operational in the Galle, Matara and Hambantota districts. In addition, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation & Development contributed 50,000 Euro, which is being mobilized through the GTZ for the provision of drinking water and also for cleaning of wells. These funds are being channelled through the GTZ's Fisheries Community Development & Resource Management Project in Tangalle. |
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