Tank, people tie earns livelihood for Padaviya villagers

Bandula Seneviratne, Vavuniya north group corr.

Inland fishermen attached to the Padaviya reservoir supply a considerable amount of inland fish varieties to the local market.

The Padaviya reservoir in the Padaviya Divisional Secretary Division is solely fed by rain water. It serves a dual purpose in providing irrigation facilities to cultivators and a livelihood to inland fishermen. The water level of this reservoir increases during the last three months of the year which is the rainy season and starts decreasing with the onset of the dry season.

Padaviya fishermen are used to the changing fortunes resulting from the changing weather pattern. These fishermen state that the Padaviya tank is an important source of livelihood for them as 500 fishing families depend on it.

Inland fish has a big demand and vans and lorries come from far off places like Chilaw and Negombo in addition to cycle vendors to purchase their daily catch, fishermen said.

A kilo of big fish fetches about Rs. 90 and medium size fish Rs. 70 per kilo.

Fishermen net in a good catch for more than half of the year and normally a fisherman will catch 25 kilos of fish a day during this season.

Although fish hauls go down during some months, this does not affect them badly as they are used to it, fishermen say.

The Padaviya tank had a water capacity of more than half during October and mid November and now it is going down due to the absence of rain. This tank was constructed by King Mahasen during the third century BC and was renovated by King Parakramabahu in 12th century BC according to history.

In 1954, the Irrigation Department renovated this tank in connection with the establishment of the Padaviya colonisation project.

Thousands of families have their living based on this tank and there is a close relationship between the tank and the people of the area bringing back memories of the past.