Do not make water a weapon-Basil

17 August 2013 05:12 am Views - 3447

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Friday said that water should never be made a weapon and said that the British colonialists had destroyed the country’s ancient tanks, irrigation systems, reservoirs and other water resources which were the main stay of the country’s economy.

“Their (British colonialists) objective was to break the will of the nation and subjugate it by turning cultivated fertile agricultural land into waste lands,” the minister said at the second international three-day Conference on Community and Water Services at the North Central Provincial council’s auditorium at Anuradhapura on Friday.

He added that once again the country was reaching self-sufficiency, thanks to the Mahinda Chinthana Vision, although in the process of developing the country various problems are confronting the government, especially because of the activities of certain groups. He stressed that Sri Lankan society should not to be racially and religiously divided.  The Minister observed that water was strongly linked to the Sri Lankan way of life and culture.

He said that the Anuradhapura civilization gave the highest priority to irrigation technology, according to Minister Rajapaksa who also pointed out that the mark of prosperity of the village in ancient times was the combination of the tank (wewa) and the dagaba. 

While industrial development was vital today it was necessary to be fully aware of its harmful side effects - environmental pollution such as effluent and industrial waste seeping into the ground and flowing into water ways – and take preventive measures.

Today all possible steps are being taken to repair and restore tanks, provide farmers with fertiliser, protect waters resources and manage them efficiently, he added.