(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Ministry of Agriculture says that due to the extreme drought conditions which affected several districts, it’s been projected that 545, 717 metric tons of paddies expected during the Maha season will be destroyed.
320, 461 families in 17 districts have been adversely affected which sums up to a total of approximately 1.2 million individuals being affected.
The Disaster Management Center noted that more than 5 hundred thousand people have been dealing with problems accessing clean drinking water.
The issue relating to clean drinking water has directly affected 13 districts including Trincomalee, Kalutara, Gampaha, Hambantota, Anuradhapura, Jaffna, Mulativu and Kilinochchi.
The DMC noted that land containing water springs, being set alight have resulted in water sources drying up.
It has been reported that due to the decrease of natural water resources in certain areas, well water and other limited water resources have been contaminated with brine.
The Assistant Director of the DMC Pradeep Koddipili stated that action has been taken to provide drinking water to the drought stricken areas.
