Crop damage has been reported across approximately 8,000 to 8,500 acres of cultivated land in Sri Lanka due to the prevailing dry weather conditions associated with El Niño.
The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board said compensation payments for farmers whose crops have been damaged will begin in several affected districts.
Arrangements have been made to credit insurance compensation payments to affected farmers in the Polonnaruwa District today, while payments to farmers in all other affected districts are expected to be completed before September 15.
Crops including paddy and maize have been damaged by the dry weather in Hambantota, Ampara, Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Monaragala districts.
Following reports of crop damage, officials inspected the affected farmlands and assessed the extent of the losses. Compensation payments were subsequently approved based on the assessed level of crop damage.
The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board said the government has allocated approximately Rs. 3 billion for compensation for the crop damage.
Compensation will be provided for six crops — paddy, maize, big onions, potatoes, soybeans and chilli — at a maximum rate of Rs. 100,000 per hectare, covering up to five acres per farmer.
The severe dry weather has also had a significant impact on the Polonnaruwa District. Amid high temperatures, the water capacity of the Parakrama Samudraya has fallen to around 66,000 acre-feet.
As the water level has declined, the remains of the historic Sitha Maligawa, believed to have been built by King Parakramabahu within the Parakrama Samudraya as a summer retreat, have become visible. Several nearby small islands have also emerged.
A large number of fish have been found dead around the Ekka Ela sluice gate of the Parakrama Samudraya, with a foul odour reportedly spreading across the area. Officials suspect that the decline in the water level may have reduced oxygen levels in the water, potentially causing the fish deaths.
Residents of Kandurugaswewa village in Grama Niladhari Division No. 120 of the Medirigiriya Divisional Secretariat Division are also facing severe difficulties due to a shortage of drinking water.
Residents of Mailagas Junction and Rambewa in Medirigiriya are similarly affected, while crops cultivated by farmers in these areas have also been destroyed. Livestock, including dairy cattle, are also being affected as grazing lands and water sources continue to dry up.
Meanwhile, farmers in Thirappane, Mawathawewa, Pandikettuwewa, Puliyankulama and Kuttikulama say wild elephants entering their farmlands at night are causing extensive damage to upland crops that they have managed to protect despite the water shortage.
Dry weather conditions in the Monaragala District are also continuing to worsen, with the Yudaganawa Tank in Buttala having almost completely dried up. The land at the centre of the tank has begun to crack as water levels continue to fall.
In the Ampara District, the water level of the Kora Wewa in Thirukkovil is also declining. Migratory birds arriving in search of the remaining water can now be seen in the area.
Meanwhile, water bowsers are being used to distribute drinking water to residents of Sirimal village and Kalan Watta in Badulla, who are facing a drinking water crisis due to the prevailing dry conditions.
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