Destroyed anicut affecting farmer's livelihood

M.A.R. Manukulasooriya Hiriyala group correspondent

Eighty farmer families living around the Guru Oya anicut in the Melsiripura Agrarian Services Division are faced with great difficulties in obtaining water for their cultivation purposes as the anicut which was destroyed by floods about three years ago is still not renovated.

We were able to cultivate about 200 acres of paddy lands using the water of this anicut, but we were unable to do any cultivation work for the past few years due to lack of water, some farmers said.

The water of the Guru Ela flows freely and as a result they are unable to retain water. Although they have brought this matter to the notice of the responsible authorities, no action has been taken to renovate it yet.