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| Saturday, 31 July 2004 |
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Under the directive of Minister: Water Board solves pilgrims' problems by Florence Wickramage The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has solved the drinking water problem of visitors and pilgrims arriving in Karataragama for the annual Esala Festival, Urban Development and Water Supply Ministry Working Director Sunil Sarath Perera told the Daily News yesterday. Minister Dinesh Gunawardena visited Kataragama prior to the festival to ascertain for himself the problems visitors face without drinking water. The recent drought had been felt severely in Ruhuna and the Menik Ganga had partially dried up. The Minister along with the Kataragama Government Agent and other officials inspected the Menik Ganga route and ordered several dams built across the river to divert water to other areas be broken down to enable the smooth flow of the river. Around 25 villages in and around Kataragama are now benefitting from the river waters. In addition a regular supply of drinking water was pumped into around 65 specially erected water tanks by bowsers, in the Kataragama sacred city and Sella Kataragama areas. Special water tanks were also supplied within the Yala National Park along the route undertaken by the Pada Yatra pilgrims to the Kataragama Shrine. Noting that the drought was an annual feature, the Minister requested a team of experts to study the areas and submit their observations in order to draw up a long term solution to the problem, Perera said. |
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