Reservoirs go dry, miners thrive

Chandana Jayaweera Hatton correspondent

The water levels of Castlereigh and Maussakelle reservoirs have dropped considerably as no rains had fallen in the catchment areas. As a result, illicit gem mining is going on the reservoir beds, a senior CEB official said yesterday.

The Castlereigh reservoir’s water level has dropped to 12.5 percent of its full capacity while Maussakele reservoir’s water level too has gone down. Illegal gem miners are at work during day and night while contaminating the water with these additional silt, residents said.

Steps should be taken to end such illegal activity to prevent fast silting of these reservoirs that play an important role in generating hydro electric power, they said.