President at Moragahakanda:
‘Yes we can’ paid dividends
Rasika Somarathna reporting from Moragahakanda
*Development drive to be accelerated after
poll
*Agriculture will be given pride of place
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday emphasized that the present
Government’s ‘Yes we can’ approach had paid rich dividends in delivering
the people’s desired expectations in many spheres including the defeat
of terrorism and development.
He said that the difference between this Government and other regimes
was that the present one not only possessed a vision and commitment but
also had an unwavering,viable practical approach to implement the above.
Addressing the farming community of Moragahakanda during an inspection
progress review tour of the Moragahakanda-Kaluganga Multi-Purpose
development project, the President said that the mega project, which
some categorized as an impossibility, stood as testimony to this
commitment.
Addressing the farming community soon after his progress review tour
where he vested with the people several concluded infrastructure
mechanisms aligned with the project worth over Rs 700 million (including
two bridges), the President said that the project which remained as more
rhetoric of past regimes during the last 40 years had become a reality
due to the bold approach taken by this Government.
The President pointed out that even though the Government first did
not have foreign funds to go ahead with the project it had never
hesitated and had allocated Rs 500 million from the State coffers to
initiate it.
Later, the Government had acquired the necessary funds to see it to a
completion both from within the country and from outside of it, the
President said while expressing his satisfaction on the progress made so
far.
The President also noted that the same bold approach had helped the
Government defeat terrorism when all odds was stacked against it.
On the occasion the President also stressed that the country’s
economic base was agriculture.
He said that although the country’s ancestors had trod this path with
success some regimes later had changed the trend and had resorted to
depend on imports even for agricultural products.
But this Government had the foresight to give due prominence to
agriculture and this has proven correct in the face of an impending food
scarcity and changing weather patterns, he added.
He emphasized that as a person who hails from a remort village and a
farming background he was determined to give agriculture its pride of
place.
The President also said that his intention was to achieve equity in
development by providing equal facilities opportunities to all
irrespective of which region of the country they live in.
He said that the present development drive would be accelerated after
the forthcoming Parliamentary polls and added that his intention was to
create a society where everybody could live happily.
During the inspection tour the President declared open the completed
300 Metre long Moragahakanda bridge built across the Amban Ganga at a
cost of Rs 308 million and also the Kapuyaya bridge, in addition to
several other completed infrastructure projects.
Minister of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Maithripala
Sirisena on the occasion presented a complete report on the progress of
the project’s, it objectives, costs, plans ahead etc.
The Minister also said that even though some opposition politicians
were spreading false rumours regarding lack of funds the Government had
already acquired the necessary funds to complete the project.
Moragahakanda and Kaluganga Development Project is the largest reservoir
project to be taken up for development under the Mahaweli River
Development Program.
Objectives of the Projects - To provide irrigation water facilities
to 81,422 ha in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka - Potable and Industrial Water
Supply to Anuradhapura and Trincomalee towns - Generation of electricity
by hydro power Location. The project area is located in the Central and
North Central Provinces in Sri Lanka.
Project Configuration The project consists of (a) Construction of two
major reservoirs namely; Moragahakanda and Kaluganga reservoirs, (b) A
conveyance system consisting of two tunnels and transfer canals and (c )
A power house of 20 MW installed capacity.
Principal Project Features Moragahakanda Reservoir Type of Dam: A
roller compacted concrete main dam and two rock fill saddle dams.
Maximum dam height: 65 metres Active Storage: 521 million cubic metres
Kaluganga Reservoir Type of Dam A rock fill main dam and two saddle
dams, one rock fill and the other earth Maximum Dam Height 67 metres
Active Storage 144 million cubic metres Conveyance System Tunnels 1.
Kalunga Moragahakanda transfer tunnel 15 m3/sec. capacity, length 3.2 km
2. Second Bowatenna Tunnel 25 m3/sec. capacity, length 7.2 km Conveyance
Canals: Total length approximately 50 Km.
Project Cost : Cost benefit the investment cost of the project is US$
382 million. The Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) is 22 percent.
Direct Benefits Agriculture: Cropping intensity which varies less than
100 percent to 154 percent in the different areas will be raised to
around 181 percent on the average.
The direct benefits include increased rice yield per hectare with an
additional agricultural production of 109,000 tons annually. The net
annual agricultural benefit will be US$ 27.7 million in financial terms.
Inland Fishery: The average annual fish production potential of the
reservoir is estimated to be around 4,700 tons per year, representing a
net benefit of US$ 1.67 million annually.
Potable and Industrial Water Supply: An increased supply of 64 MCM
(by the year 2032) could be ensured towards meeting the potable and
industrial water needs in the district of Matale, Anuradhapura,
Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa from the surface water sources in the
Ambanganga basin and its associated tanks and canals with the
implementation of the project.
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