Farmers raise concerns about project to develop banks of the Senanayake Samudraya

Colombo News 1st: The leaders of the farmers accuse the project being carried out for the protection of the lake embankment of Senanayake Samudraya, one of the largest reservoirs in Sri Lanka saying that it is a substandard.

  The Senanayake Samudraya was gifted to the country on August 28, 1953 under the Gal Oya Multipurpose Scheme, based on the concept of the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D.S.Senanayake.

The Senanayake Samudraya which was built by connecting a pair of mountains in Iginiyagala, is seven hundred and seventy thousand acre feet and the length of the embankment is thirty six thousand feet. 

The area under cultivation is one hundred and twenty thousand acres

This benefits of this reservoir is immeasurable, with it's main purpose being, producing hydroelectric power and supplying water to cultivated fields.

Moreover, flood control in the Gal Oya reservoir, freshwater fishing industry, supply of water to Ampara city and tourism industry take place through the Senanayake Samudraya. 

With the help of the World Bank, the restoration of the reservoir is currently taking place, after 70 years of its construction. 

While a committee of farmer leaders have also been appointed to look into the construction process and whether the construction is being done properly, they point out that it is not being done to a proper standard. 

The granite board used to protect the lake embankment from the inner side of the lake and which prevents the lake embankment from being washed away by the waves is known as Ralapanawa. 

It is often created using high quality granite but the granite being used for the Ralapanawa is of substandard quality.

Chief farmers point out that recently, quality granite is placed on the inferior stones to make the Ralapanawa.