Batticaloa more than desperate for drinking water

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The prevailing dry weather condition has severely affected over 440,000 people in the country. The drought has affected the residents in the Northern and Eastern Provinces severely. News 1st team today travelled to the areas of Vavunathivu, Ettankattei, Unnichchai in Batticaloa district. The residents of the areas are desperate to find drinking water for their survival. The main source of water supply for the Batticaloa district, Unnichchai tank's water level has decreased at an alarming rate. In recent years, the reservoir water level was up to 33 feet and stored up to 500 acre-feet of water. Today, the water level of the reservoir is at the 8 feet marker. News 1st correspondent who explored the areas noted that the residents were seriously affected by the dry weather as they have no water for their agricultural purposes and more importantly for consumption. The local led the News 1st team to their dying cattle as the locals were not able to provide drinking water for them. Although the Disaster Management Center distributed water for the locals, evidently it was not adequate for them. The News 1st team discovered 8004 individuals in 2446 families who were burdened by the dry weather condition in the Batticaloa district. In total, over 190,260 people in the Northern province and 152,936 people in the Eastern province are desperate for water.