Thirsty Land, Hungry People
A man walks through agricultural land in the village of Mirusuvil, in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna Di
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, (IPS): Gazing out over the parched earth of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, one might think these farmlands have not seen water in years. In fact, this is not too far from the truth.
The World Food Programme (WFP) last month allocated 2.5 million dollars to assist hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans in the throes of an 11-month drought that has shown no signs of abating.
A woman stands in front of her parched paddy land in the eastern Batticaloa District, one of Sri Lanka’s largest paddy-producing regions, that has been hit by the 11-month-long drought. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
A man stands in the middle of parched paddy land in the northern Kilinochchi District. Sri Lanka’s staple rice harvest is expected to record a loss of 17 percent from around four million metric tonnes in 2013. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
The WFP said on Sep. 1 that 2.3 million dollars worth of supplies, including rice rations, would be provided to the drought victims. The assistance scheme will also provide 277,000 dollars in cash grants to needy families.
A woman covers her head with a cloth to escape the extreme heat in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna District where daytime temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
A woman carries firewood in the drought-impacted Pillumalai area of the eastern Batticaloa District. Residents of this region are staring a water crisis in the face, as the main reservoir, the Vakaneri Tank, is almost completely dried up. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
The drought has so far impacted over 1.6 million people, of whom at least 190,000 are in need of urgent food assistance, while there are concerns about the food security of an additional 700,000.
A parched tank bed in the southeastern Moneragala District, where farmers say the absence of rain since late 2013 has completely destroyed their agricultural lands. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
A young girl drinks water out of a bottle in Sri Lanka’s eastern Batticaloa District, where over 220,000 persons have been affected by the drought. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
Over half of those impacted by the drought are from the northern and eastern provinces of the country, two of the poorest in the nation.
A tractor moves along the side of the dried-out Elephant Pass causeway in the northern Kilinochchi District. Officials told IPS the district was in need of at least nine million rupees (69,000 dollars) per week for drought relief. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
A man uses water from an industrial-grade pump in the Karadiyanaru area of the eastern Batticaloa District. Experts warn that the rampant use of powerful water-pumps in this arid region is putting undue stress on the water table. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
While the situation calls for immediate assistance, the WFP also warned that the affected would need long-term help to adapt to the impacts of changing climate patterns.
A woman tries to salvage whatever is left of her green gram crop before the lack of water destroys the entire plot in the eastern Pillumalai area of the Batticaloa District. According to government estimates, Sri Lanka’s agricultural output is likely to fall by at least 10 percent this year due to the drought. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS
Mzee mmoja wa Sri Lanka, ambaye anaishi katika kijiji cha Mirusuvil, katika mkoa wa Jaffna, D.C., anasema kuwa nchi hiyo imekosa maji kwa miaka mingi. Kwa kweli, hilo si jambo lisilo la kweli. Shirika la Chakula Duniani (WFP) limetoa dola milioni 2.5 kusaidia maelfu ya watu wa Sri Lanka ambao wamekumbwa na ukame wa miezi 11 ambao haujaonyesha dalili za kupungua. Mwanamke mmoja amesimama mbele ya shamba lake la mchele lililokauka katika wilaya ya Batticaloa mashariki mwa Sri Lanka, mojawapo ya mikoa mikubwa ya uzalishaji wa mchele, ambayo imekumbwa na ukame wa miezi 11. Amantha Perera, Mkurugenzi wa Idara ya Usalama wa Kilonchi, anasema kuwa watu wengi wamekosa chakula katika eneo la Kilonchi. Mazao ya mchele nchini Sri Lanka yamepungua kwa asilimia 17 tangu mwaka 2013, WFP ilisema kuwa itatoa misaada ya dola milioni 2.3 kwa watu walioathiriwa na ukame. Mpango huo pia utatoa dola 277,000 kwa misaada ya fedha kwa familia zinazohitaji msaada. Mwanamke mmoja amefunika kichwa chake kwa kitambaa ili kuepuka joto kali katika wilaya ya Jaffna kaskazini mwa Sri Lanka ambapo joto la mchana linaweza kufikia digrii 40 Celsius. Amantha Perera, mwanaharakati wa uokoaji wa mazingira, anaishi katika eneo la Pillumalai, katika wilaya ya Batticaloa. Wakazi wa eneo hilo wanakabiliwa na mgogoro wa maji, kwani hifadhi kuu ya maji, Bwawa la Vakaneri, karibu limekauka kabisa. Amantha Perera, Mkurugenzi wa Idara ya Afya ya Umoja wa Mataifa, amesema ukame huo umewasumbua watu milioni 1.6 na kati ya hao, zaidi ya watu 190,000 wanahitaji msaada wa chakula, huku watu wengine 700,000 wakihatarishwa. Mto wa Mto Mto wa Mto Mto katika wilaya ya Monaregala, kusini mashariki mwa Nigeria, ambao umesababisha mvua kutoweka kwa muda mrefu, umesababisha uharibifu mkubwa wa mashamba ya wakulima. Amantha Perera, Msichana mmoja mdogo akinywa maji kutoka chupa katika wilaya ya Batticaloa, mashariki mwa Sri Lanka, ambapo zaidi ya watu 220,000 wameathiriwa na ukame. Amantha Perera, Mkurugenzi wa Idara ya Usalama wa Nchi za Mashariki na Kaskazini, anasema zaidi ya nusu ya watu walioathiriwa na ukame ni kutoka mikoa ya kaskazini na mashariki ya nchi hiyo, ambayo ni miongoni mwa maeneo masikini zaidi nchini. Traktor inaendesha kwenye barabara ya Elephant Pass iliyo kavu katika wilaya ya Kilinochchi kaskazini. Maafisa wa serikali wamesema wilaya hiyo inahitaji angalau rupi milioni tisa (dola 69,000) kwa wiki kwa ajili ya misaada ya ukame. Amantha Perera, mwanaharakati wa uhamiaji wa India, aliandika katika ukurasa wake wa Twitter kwamba watu wengi wanaishi katika eneo la Karadiyanaru, katika wilaya ya Batticaloa. Wataalamu wanaonya kwamba matumizi makubwa ya pampu zenye nguvu za maji katika eneo hilo kavu yanaathiri sana maji ya chini ya ardhi. "Wametaja kuwa ""mtazamo wa hali ya hewa ni muhimu sana kwa ajili ya maendeleo ya nchi,"" WFP ilisema, ""lakini pia inahitaji msaada wa muda mrefu ili kuweza kukabiliana na athari za mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa.""" Mwanamke mmoja anajaribu kuokoa kile kilichobaki cha mazao yake ya kijani kabla ya ukosefu wa maji kuharibu shamba lake lote katika eneo la mashariki la Pillumalai la Wilaya ya Batticaloa. Kulingana na makadirio ya serikali, uzalishaji wa kilimo nchini Sri Lanka utapungua kwa asilimia 10 mwaka huu kutokana na ukame. Amantha Perera (IPS)