• Fear threat to food security

The National Agrarian Unity (NAU) has accused the authorities including the Department of Irrigation of arbitrarily releasing water from the Victoria Reservoir, warning that such actions could pose a threat to the country’s food security.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (19), NAU President Anuradha Tennakoon said that water in the reservoir is being used in a short-sighted manner at a time when it should be conserved for future agricultural requirements.

“The water is flowing through canals from the Victoria Reservoir even at times when it is not required. This means water is being released unnecessarily. Agricultural activities that require large quantities of water have not yet started. At present, the water bodies in those areas still contain adequate water. The demand will arise later, and releasing water now would amount to a serious waste,” he said.

Responding to queries from The Daily Morning yesterday, Director General of the Irrigation Department Dr. (Eng.) K. Weligepolage said that decisions on water releases are taken by the Water Management Secretariat, of which the Irrigation Department is a member, and that no unusual volumes of water were being released for electricity generation.

He also said that water released from the Victoria Reservoir flows into the Randenigala Reservoir, where it is stored, and therefore no disruption to agricultural activities is expected.

The Government had previously faced allegations from the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), which claimed that water had been released from the Victoria Reservoir to compensate for energy losses to the national grid caused by substandard coal.

However, when contacted by The Daily Morning earlier, Deputy Energy Minister Ilyas Akram rejected those claims, claiming that arbitrary water releases are not possible.