Water level drops

Raja Waidyasekera Tissamaharama special corr.

The water level of the Uda Walawe Reservoir has dropped sharply, making it impossible to release water to the 34,600 hectares of land irrigated by it, Embilipitiya chief engineer Tilak Samarasinghe said.

He said at present the reservoir holds only a capacity of 95,000 acre feet and the volume of water is enough to last for 20 days only.

He said farmers who waste water are to be blamed for this situation.