About 20,000 paddy farmers in the Puttalam district and 45,000 paddy farmers in the Kurunegala district, have failed to reap proper harvests during five consecutive harvesting seasons due to the existing dry weather patterns.
About 1,347 tanks in the Puttalam district and 2,122 tanks in the Kurunegala district that irrigated paddy fields for years, have now run dry. Puttalam District Secretary N. M. N. Chitrananda confirmed these figures and lamented over the hardships faced by the farming community of the North Western Province (NWP).
Kurunegala District Parliamentarian and Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, has provided drought relief to the tune of Rs. 4.87 million during past five months for the affected families in the NWP. Affected families are presently provided with drinking water at a cost of Rs. 1.22 million. Forty five bowsers have been deployed to supply drinking water to them, Minister Anura Priyadrshana Yapa told the Daily News, yesterday.
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