Yesterday, the farmer organization agreed to end the four-day hunger strike of the chairman of the Welioya Halembawewa Farmers’ Organization, who had been protesting due to water issues, with the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara.
The Halabawewa farmers expressed that they had not received a solution to their water problem from any party when they met Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, who was participating in the Jayagamu Sri Lanka People’s Mobile Service held at the Pudukudiirippu Public Stadium in Mullaitivu on the 4th.
The Minister took action to draw the attention of the President and the Minister responsible for the matter.
Accordingly, Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, who arrived at the location last night, and He discussed the situation over the phone with Minister of Wildlife, Forest Conservation, and Irrigation, Mrs. Pavitra Vanniarachchi.
In that discussion, the minister agreed to consider and allocate the 225 million rupees required to bring irrigation water from Yanoya to the Halabawewa Farming Colony as an urgent matter, and to seek necessary approval in the cabinet meeting to be held the tomorrow. Additionally, it was assured that the necessary funds would be allocated through the budget.
After Minister Manusha Nanayakkara informed the members of Halabawewa Farmers’ Organization about this, they agreed to end their protest. Accordingly, the chairman of the farmers’ organization ended his fast and handed over all the documents related to his problem to the minister, requesting him to bring them to the attention of President Ranil Wickremasinghe.
The minister explained to the farmers that since President Ranil Wickremesinghe has improved the economic situation of the country, there is a possibility of allocating funds for such activities.
In 2013, the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority settled about three hundred farming families in Halambawewa Farming colony, and currently, about two hundred families are living in that colony.
Under the Yanoya movement, farmers were supposed to receive irrigation water, but due to various reasons, the farmers alleged that proper irrigation water was not provided. As a result, approximately 200 farming families did not receive irrigation water, leading to the failure of their crops.
In response to this situation, the farmers of Halambawewa Colony requested officials to provide irrigation water for them from the Yanoya project, and an estimate was prepared with the intervention of State Minister for Rural Economy, Kader Mastan.
However, the transfer of water from Anuradhapura district to Trincomalee district was delayed day by day, and the farmers’ organizations have been protesting for some time. The farmers of Halambawewa Colony pointed out that the water from the Yanoya project is not far away from their village, and it will cost 225 million rupees to bring the remaining four kilometers of water.
Minister Manusha Nanayakkara intervened in a long-standing problem that had not been resolved for a long time.