A Major Inter-Provincial Irrigation in Sri Lanka Awarded to China

by A.A.M. Nizam, Asian Tribune, Scandanavia, November 5, 2011

Colombo: China has been awarded a major irrigation project that would provide irrigation facilities to Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. The agreement for this project, the Yan Oya Reservoir Project was signed in Colombo yesterday. The project envisages to provide irrigation water for the Northern and Eastern provinces and drinking water for people in the Anuradhapura and Trincomalee districts.

This reservoir project is one of the largest water supply projects that will be implemented in Sri Lanka, and the cost of the project is estimated at Rs. 19 Billion. The Chinese government and a Chinese Engineering Firm (China CAMA Engineering Co LTD) are providing 85 percent of the cost as financial assistance.

Under this project, a large reservoir will be constructed at Angurugasweva across the lower side of the Yan Oya. Water from this reservoir will be diverted to another major reservoir in Padaviya, and from this source. 9496 six hectares will get irrigation water. The project which is to be completed in 4 years is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to 7,200 persons.

The construction of the Yan Oya Irrigation Project will ensure a huge area which had so far not been cultivated in the Eastern and North Central Province to be brought under the plough. Apart from that, this irrigation project will help foster amity between Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims in the area, Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the construction of the Yan Oya Irrigation Project will ensure a huge area which had so far not been cultivated in the Eastern and North Central Province to be brought under the plough. He said that apart from that, this irrigation project will also help foster amity between Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims in the area

The project includes two main irrigational channels along the banks of Yan Oya and an anicut dam to release surplus water to the nearly 20 kilometers long channels. Once completed the anicut scheme would be able to feed more than 50 medium and micro scale tanks feeding 6,000 acres. Additionally, the project is expected to provide potable water for the people in the northeast.

The project will be a precursor to alleviate poverty of at least 12,000 families in the area affected by the decades-long terrorist aggression which prevented the farmers in this area from engaging in cultivation activities.

The agreement relating to the project was signed yesterday by the Secretary to the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Management Mr. Ivan Silva and the Chairperson of the Chinese Firm Mrs. Loo Yang. The foundation stone for this project will be laid by President Mahinda Rjapaksa during the Deyata Kirula National Development Programme to be held in Anuradhapura next February. The Chief Minister of the North Central Province Mr. Berty Premalal Dissanayake also attended yesterday’s signing ceremony.

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Chinese firm signs deal on construction of major dam in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese company on Thursday signed a contract with Sri Lanka to build a major reservoir in the country to boost its irrigation capability, officials said.

The contract was signed between China CAMC Engineering Corporation and Sri Lanka's Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management in Colombo.

The Irrigation Ministry said Yan Oya reservoir is one of the new water resources development projects undertaken in Sri Lanka.

The ministry said the project located in northeastern Sri Lanka will generate benefits to local economy by way of increased agricultural production, inland fishery development and employment opportunities.

CAMC Chairperson Luo Yan said during the signing ceremony that the company, which has successfully completed a lot of international engineering projects, will strive for the early completion of Yan Oya reservoir project and create benefits for the local people.

Under the contract, the total cost for the project is 176 million U.S. dollars and it is expected to be completed in four years.

The ministry said a skilled and unskilled labor force of 5,200 will be directly employed while another 2,000 will find employment opportunities in support service during the construction period.

Besides, once the project is completed, it will be a source of drinking water for people in the northeast.

Officials said the project will be a precursor to alleviation of poverty of at least 12,000 families in the area who had been going through many hardships as they were directly victimized for over three decades due to the conflict between the government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in the north and east of Sri Lanka which ended in 2009.

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China to build Yan Oya reservoir in Eastern Sri Lanka to boost irrigation capabilities

Fri, Nov 4, 2011, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Nov 04, Colombo: A Chinese company has agreed to undertake a major reservoir irrigation development project that would be capable of solving in irrigational water problems in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province, Xinhua news agency reported.

China CAMC Engineering Corporation Thursday has signed a contract with Sri Lanka's Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management in Colombo to build the Yan Oya water reservoir, one of the new water resources development projects undertaken in Sri Lanka to boost the irrigational capability.

The project would be a scheme similar to Moragahakanda project, capable of solving water problems for areas including Kebithigollewa, Padaviya, Welioya, and Medawachchiya.

According to the Ministry, the project, estimated to cost US$ 176 million, will boost agricultural production and inland fishery development benefitting the local economy and creating more employment opportunities for the local youth.

The CAMC Chairperson Luo Yan has said the company will strive for the early completion of Yan Oya reservoir project and create benefits for the local people. The project is expected to be completed in four years.

The Ministry expects to directly employ a skilled and unskilled labor force of 5,200 while another 2,000 will find employment opportunities in support service during the construction period.

The project includes two main irrigational channels along the banks of Yan Oya and an anicut dam to release surplus water to the nearly 20 kilometers long channels. Once completed the anicut scheme would be able to feed more than 50 medium and micro scale tanks feeding 6,000 acres. Additionally, the project is expected to provide potable water for the people in the northeast.

According to the officials the project will be a precursor to alleviate poverty of at least 12,000 families in the area affected by the decades-long armed conflict between the government troops and the Tamil Tiger terrorists

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Colonization of the East

Resettle all the Sinhala families that have left the Yan Oya...

Rebel of Kandy blog, June 17, 2009

As was discussed in an earlier post one of the best ways to defeat the mythical Tamil homeland or illusionery Eelam dream is to wipe out the mono ethnic concept of the Eelamists.

However, before embarking on this initiative the first and foremost responsibility of the government should be to resettle thousands of Sinhala IDPs in their original villages who were displaced in the N & E areas due to the mass scale ethnic cleansing programme committed by the LTTE. This article appearing in the Sri Lanka Guardian graphically illustrates Sinhala settlements which existed in N & E before being ethnically cleansed. The article is so informative that the authorities can make use of it for their reference when resettling these Sinhalease.   

The article deals with the Purana (ancient) Sinhala villages in the Northern, Eastern and North Central Provinces which were razed to the ground by the Eelamists. The Sinhala villages of the Yan Oya basin suffered the brunt of the ethnic cleansing programme as these villages were threats to the grand mythical Eelam decing connecting the North and Eastern districts.

For your convenience please find below two extracted paragraphs from the article.

"With regard to the unity and territorial integrity of our country, the Yan Oya river basin is strategically the most important area. The landmass in this river basin links the Northern Province to the Eastern Province. To those who advocate the establishment of the nation of Eelam by the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, it is very important firstly to destabilize this river basin and subsequently to ethnically cleanse this area of any Sinhala presence. The effort surreptitiously made in this direction during many years of conflict is surprisingly not known to many. If the unity and territorial integrity of our motherland is to be preserved for posterity it is this effort that has to be reversed with immediate effect by resettling all the Sinhala families that have left the Yan Oya river basin. 

It could be approximated that over five thousand Sinhala families have been internally displaced from the Yan Oya river basin. It has taken place from several Divisional Secretariat Areas that are in the Northern, Eastern and North Central Provinces. While more information is given in this article to justify this estimate, it has focused special attention to the Gomarankadawala area of the Eastern Province and the Padaviya area of the North Central Province that have been extensively affected".

As has always been the case every attempt by the previous governments to resettle the displaced Sinahalese in N & E has been fiercely rejected by the Eelamists. The very first brand of monkeys to jump into the bandwagon in opposing this effort will be Eelam supporting NGO/INGOs and their cronies from the Western world led by Norway. They will start barking from roof tops claiming that this is "Sinhala colonization in predominantly Tamil areas with the objective of altering the demographic composition."

Therefore, in this endeavor too the government should forge ahead with the same iron steeled courage displayed in defeating the terrorism leaving no room for Eelam supporters to undermine the great sacrifices made by our forces to wipe out the mono ethnic Eelam dream of the terrorists.