The forgotten islands of Sri Lanka and their hardships

COLOMBO (News 1^st) - Many areas in the country face difficulties in accessing clean drinking water. News 1^st found such a situation in an area from the Nothern Province. Jaffna consists of 7 islands that are inhabited. News 1^st paid a visit to Analaitivu, an island in the Jaffna district today (May 16) to inquire into the hardships of the Islanders. After traveling over 20km from the Jaffna town, the News 1^st team made it to the Karamban pier to start their ferry ride to Analaitivu After a long ride, the News 1^st team finally arrived on the island. Due to the lack of an efficient mode of transport in the island, the team was severely inconvenienced. Analaitivu has two Grama Niladhari divisions; Analaitivu North and Analaitivu South. 251 families reside in the northern section of Analaitivu and the total population stands at 871. The main livelihood is fishing. The southern part of Analaitivu is home to 264 families and 949 people. The lack of access to clean drinking water is one of the main issues plaguing the Islanders. When our team delved into the matter, we found out that although a sub-office of the Kaytes Municipality provides water to the island, the salinity of the water is high and therefore unsuitable for consumption. The recently increased fuel prices have also had a major impact on the fishermen in the island.