Gammadda Door to Door team continues journey across Sri Lanka

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Although there has been a great deal of talk about the development of expressways and overhead bridges people living in rural Sri Lanka have not even seen a glimpse of the said development. The Gammadda door to door team met with many such people, who continue to wait for authorities to pay attention to their pleas. Pollonaruwa - Samagipura The journey across the Yodha Ela that carries water to Medirigiriya from Minneriya is quite treacherous. However, this is the journey undertaken by the people of this area on a daily basis. The Gammadda team was able to witness many people including children travelling on this dangerous path. About 600 - 700 villagers travel across this route to reach the main road and there have been a number of accidents reported due to the lack of improper infrastructure. According to the villagers, any alternative route would take over 1 hour to reach the town. Even victims of wild elephant attacks have to be taken along this dangerous path. Pollonaruwa - Pahala Allewewa The residents of Pahala Allewewa told our teams that the wewa in the area has been severely polluted. They added that it has become difficult to use the wewa as a result of illegal land fillings taking place under political patronage. Many acres of farm land have been destroyed owing to improper water management in the area. Galle - Pilagoda The lives of the people in Pilagoda have been affected by rock quarries in the area. They find it difficult just remaining in their houses as a result of these quarries. Although the authorities have been notified of this situation on multiple occasions, no remedial steps have been taken. In addition, the lack of a proper road leading out of their village is another issue faced by these villagers. Galle - Rathgama The villagers in Rathgama told the Gammadda team that the education of their children has been severely affected as the closest school to their village only has classes up to Grade 5. The parents face many issues in enrolling their children in a different school once they finish the 5th grade. Mulathivu - Kotriadi The people of Kotriadi village face a major threat from wild elephants. These people who make ends meet through cultivations are facing many hardships as their crops are being damaged by wild elephants. The village also does not have a proper road network.