Gammadda Door to Door Day 3 : Rural Sri Lanka struggling due to lack of water

COLOMBO (News 1st) - In order to hear and understand the true voice of the people, you must replace your helicopter rides with a walk on the same roads the common man toils through his daily life. A heart to heart conversation with the people can help you understand the blood and tears they shed in order to make their lives a little better. In a country so focused on development through the utilization of high powered technology, in our journey, we met over 10,000 families who haven't had the fortune to benefit from these winds of change. Gammadda door-to-door initiative filed this report. Folk-Lore says that Matale got its name because of the mountains that stand tall and high surrounding this valley. A number of these mountains are the hidden enclave, of the source of pure waterfalls. In such a backdrop, is it plausible that people in this area walk miles in search of water? Finding clean drinking water is a daily challenge faced by the people living in this area. The Akarahaduwa village is situated on the boundary of the Bowatenna reservoir. In a twist of fate, even with the reservoir flowing right before their eyes, the villages have to source their water from small pits. In an age where there is access to clean drinking water at our fingertips, in the village of Akarahaduwa, Matale we saw people digging holes in search of water. The health sector of this country is tasked with ensuring the health and well-being of the general public. Ironically it is by the hand of the health sector that the water of the Bowatenna reservoir is being made unfit for human consumption. The villagers state that medical waste is being continued to be dumped into the Bowatenna reservoir. These villagers cannot comprehend elaborate plans that have been drawn to build this nation. The accessibility to clean drinking water that is a very basic human need is all these villagers ask for. The villagers in Lihinipitiya too are facing the same problem. They lack water to even tend their cultivations. When the sun comes out, they are faced with the challenge of quenching their thirst with a sip of clean water. When the sun goes down and stars set in, the villagers are faced with the threat of roaming elephants destroying their cultivations. Another Gammada team toured Galle, Walipitiya, and Waduragala today(July 20). Families in this area contribute over 3,000 kg of paddy during the Yala and Maha seasons to the nation. But today, these people stare at their barren lands with no hope in their eyes and no food in their stomach. This is because 30 acres of their cultivations did not receive water on time. The sun beat down on us mercilessly as we visited each and every household in Kudiyiruppu, Killinochchi. The heat was unbearable, but the 103 families that live here without proper access to drinking water and no shelter above their heads. Against all odds, they have no choice but to live in this insufferable heat. In the quest of drinking water, the villagers have to walk at least 2 km in the hot scorching sun. While politicians are wrapped up in their own worlds where they have niggling brawls over development schemes, we met people who fought over a drop of water to quench their thirst.