Badulla district stands high in the past and present Sri Lanka

Nadira Gunatilleke

Opening of the new building by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and Minister of Health and Nutrition Nimal Siripala de Silva

Badulla is a district in Uva Province in Sri Lanka. The entire land area of the Badulla district is 2,861kmý and total population is 837,000. The district is bounded by the districts of Moneragala and Ratnapura on the East and South, by Ampara and Kandy districts on the North and by Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura on the West. There are nine electorates in this district.

They are Badulla, Bandarawela, Haliela, Haputale, Mahiyanganaya, Passara, Uva Paranagama, Welimada and Viyaluwa. There is one Municipal Council, Badulla and two Urban Councils, Bandarawela and Haputale. The number of Pradeshiya Sabhas in this district is 15.

Mainly the economy of the district is based on agricultural farming and livestock. Badulla District is an agricultural district where tea, vegetable and paddy are cultivated. Mainly the district is divided in to two portions as Upper region and Lower region according to climatic and geographical characteristics.

Upper division of the district is famous for tea plantation and vegetable cultivation while lower division is famous for paddy cultivation.

The meaning of historical name ‘Wellassa’ is the land with 100,000 paddy fields. Mahiyanganaya is the first place the Buddha visited in Sri Lanka. In order to bring back the past glory, the present Government initiated ‘Pubudamu Wellassa’ ‘Reawaken Wellassa’. For the Pubudamu Wellassa project, the Government has allocated approximately 20.98 billion rupees during the 2006-2009 period. The project includes almost all sorts of development drives especially Uma Oya, Menik Ganga and Weli Oya multi-purpose irrigation projects.

One of the new emerging public buildings in Badulla

These three projects will benefit over 800,000 people. The Government has implemented Gama Neguma, Jathika Sawiya, thousand water tanks development plan, Maga Neguma and many such development programs. Badulla district included three divisions which were rated among the poorest areas of Sri Lanka few years ago. In 2002 Badulla poverty level was 37 percent and at present it is decreased to 23 percent.

The people living in the Badulla district enjoy the best healthcare service at the time of Independence in 1948. A new oncology unit blood bank and a drug store were constructed in the Badulla General Hospital at a cost of Rs.140 million.

The construction of a new building in this hospital was completed at a cost of Rs.400 million. It consists of an outpatient department, clinics, operating theatres and ICU. Mahiyanganaya base hospital developed. Surgical theatres, a pre-mature baby unit and maternity wards were constructed in the Mahiyanganaya Base Hospital at a cost of Rs 260 million. A new two storied building for an outpatient department and a Paediatric Ward and laboratory in the Welimada Base Hospital were constructed at a cost of Rs.50 million.

The Ministry took over 10 estate hospitals in order to provide better healthcare to the estate sector population.

The Ministry also developed the road network in order to provide better transport facilities for patients. The roads belong to estate companies and not to the Government. But the Ministry developed the roads.

The Ministry spends over Rs.25 million for each estate hospital to provide modern medical equipment and other facilities. The Ministry also provided Rs.15,000 each for 1500 families to build toilets in order to minimize the spread of communicable diseases in the area. Low weight births is a common problem exist in the district due to early marriages of females. The Ministry made arrangements to provide a nutrition package for pregnant mothers to solve this problem. Clinics have also been provided for them in order to avoid long distance travelling.

Sky-riser mega building which is a common feature in the district today

Another significant development drive launched in the district aimed at modernising the road network.

One year ago it took 15 hours for a truck transporting agricultural harvest to reach Colombo and with the renovations and optimum quality of the road network it takes only eight hours now. Ella-Wellawaya, Nuwara Eliya-Badulla, Passara-Badulla, Meegahakiwula-Badulla roads are also well developed. The Nuwara Eliya-Badulla road expanded by 7 metres in width with a total length of 68 kilometres.

The total cost of this project is around 5.34 billion rupees. Colombo Chenkaladi road to be constructed soon and the cabinet approval has already been granted for the cabinet memorandum presented by Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva for this purpose.

Almost all main bus stands and bus stops have already been constructed and modernised. 80 percent of rural roads have been concreted. Over Rs.10,000 million spent over road constructions.

Badulla town to be developed as a `Green City’ and the program has already been commenced and going on very successfully.

The garbage problem of the city is completely solved. Uva Wellassa University is built at a cost of Rs 12 Billion. The speciality of this university is it provides vocational training for over 350 students on various fields including beauty culture, flower cultivation and ornament fish breeding.

The number of intake to be increased up to 1500 soon. Under the ‘Gama Neguma’, houses to be built for the needy people of a Grama Niladhari Divisions. For the year 2009 the Ministry of Nation Building has allocated a total of 22.5 million rupees for Badulla district to build houses for war heroes at each DS Division. The Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development has implemented 27 housing projects.

Road Construction

The Ministry of Nation Building has implemented 19 water supply projects in the past three years in these estates in Badulla district at a total cost of 7.78 million rupees. In Badulla district six water supply and sanitation facilities will be provided to Gonamotawa upper division road, Nayabedda estate’s St. Catherine division, Gonakelle lower division, Cocogalle, Springvally and Glenmore estates within this year for which 3.84 million rupees are allocated.

Around 3.5 km north of Badulla lie the majestic, 63-meter-high Dunhinda Falls which have been watching the change the took place in Uva Wellassa over the years. But until the recent past, there were no significant changes and the poverty level of the district remained at 37 percent.

But under Mahinda Chinthanaya massive development drives came to the district reducing the poverty level to 23 percent. Now both Dunhinda falls and Uva Wellassa kingdom are proudly watching how it is gaining its past glory in no time.