Reopening of the Yakkure - Manampitiya road Silent villagers spurred on by arrogant minister

 Protest held by villagers requesting govt. to go ahead with the project

• Yakkure residents mainly visit Polonnaruwa to take medicine from the hospital
• It is doubtful whether the two ministers are trying to build an expressway from Yakkure to Manampitiya
• The residents are prosperous with each household possessing at least one vehicle including bicycles, three-wheelers, walking tractors, tractors, lorries, cars and vans
• They already live a better life and reopening the old Yakkure road back will not make any difference
• According to the Wildlife Act, no one can enter a wildlife zone for an assessment without the prior approval of the Department of Wildlife and Conservation

On November 30, between 10 and 11 I contacted a close associate of Uncle Simon, known as a ‘walking library’ of the last Yakka Generation. Here is a part of our conservation on the Yakkure - Manampitiya Road.

*Do you really need the Yakkure – Manampitiya road?
Sir, when we were in the old village, we used that road.
*How about now?
We haven’t used it very often.
*Where did you go on this road?
To the jungle, to Manampitiya and to Polonnaruwa.
*Why do you ask for the road now?
Polonnaruwa is only 9 miles away. Once the road is built, we can reach Manampitiya in 10 minutes.
*Why do you go to Manampitiya?
To go to Polonnaruwa Hospital from there.
*Is it only to go to Polonnaruwa?
Yes Sir, there is no other need other than that. 
*From where do you obtain medicine now?
We either go to Nuwaragala or Siripura. Or else Dehiattakandiya or Kotte (Girandurukotte). Or we go to Mahiyangana.
*Don’t you go to Polonnaruwa?
When a critically ill person is taken to hospital, he is usually transferred to Polonnaruwa. We go to Siripura from Nuwaragala and then to Polonnaruwa.
*Is there a large jungle area surrounding the road?
No Sir. The road stretches along the river. There is only a cane field.
*Since there exists elephant-human conflicts, won’t the conflict escalate with the construction of the road?
When vehicles move, elephant won’t come, don’t you agree Sir?
*Who says so?
The Minister said that when the road is built we could reach Manampitiya in 10 minutes and when there are vehicles, there won’t be elephants. He said so when he visited the village once. 

Human-Elephant conflict

Yakkure is not just an ordinary village. People belonging to the Yakka Generation still live here. The residents used to live within their means. Only the Minister seems to want a carpeted road from Manampitiya to Yakkure and he has many reasons for that. As for Minister Wimalaweera Dissanayaka and Roshan Ranasinghe, the 13 kilometre road from Manampitiya to Old Yakkure School can be used to reach Manampitiya and from there to Polonnaruwa. According to them, Yakkure residents mainly visit Polonnaruwa to take medicine from the hospital. One needs a vehicle that travels at 100 kmph to reach Manampitiya in ten minutes. It is doubtful whether the two ministers are trying to build an expressway from Yakkure to Manampitiya.

The only advantage of the Yakkure – Manampitiya road is that the distance to Mahiyangana is reduced with it. A vehicle cannot travel at its usual speed, which is 70 kmph, since the road is located in a water catchment in a Flood Plains National Park. Wild animals such as deer, rabbits, porcupines and serpents cross the road in search of water in the Mahaveli. When there are vehicles, not only the lives of wild animals, but also of commuters are at stake and no one will take responsibility. Since animals should cross the road, building an electric fence for the safety of commuters is unthinkable. Elephants use a specific route known as the ‘Alimankada’. The emergence of human settlements where elephants live and cross roads is the major cause for human-elephant conflicts. In such a situation, one cannot be affirmative that there would be no human – elephant conflict in the case of constructing the road.

Whether the Ministers who build roads across national parks or reserves do so while following in the President’s footsteps is an unknown fact. Work to construct the road to Lankagama through Buffer zone of the Sinaharaja Forest Reserve was started after the President identified the need of the residents. State Wildlife Minister Wimalaweera Dissanayake said that the old road to Yakkure should be reopened based on resident’s requests. 
Is it necessary to carpet and reopen the Yakkure – Manampitiya road? The road is no longer used. The road is used in Manampitiya by the Manampitiya sand factory to transport sand in lorries. Old culverts can still be seen. People from Polonnaruwa said that this road was defunct since the time of LTTE was active. They also said that if this road could be built there would be no harm to humans from wild animals. The distance from Polonnaruwa to Mahiyangana would be reduced by 15-20 kilometres and it is shorter than the journey made on the Polonnaruwa – Mahiyangana main road. Residents of Yakkure, who used to take this road, could cut their journey by 15-20 kilometres.

People used to produce bricks on the Yakkure – Manampitiya road area. Polonnaruwa Podi Wije and Maradankadawala Yakadaya used to hide here. Maradankadawala Yakadaya used to produce bricks at a spot towards the swampy water bodies. LTTE terrorists also took the road to Yakkure when they wanted to attack the Manampitiya Army camp.

Under the Mahaveli Development Project, the Polonnaruwa – Mahiyangana road was built across Dimbulagala, Siripura and Dehiattakandiya. The road is carpeted. The distance from Polonnaruwa to Mahiyangana is 90 kilometres whereas the distance from Manampitya to Mahiyangana is 80 kilometres. The distance from Yakkure to Manampitiya through Pallegama is 35 kilometres and from Yakkure to Siripura the distance is 12 kilometres. From Siripura to Manmpitiya the distance is 29 kilometres. 

Prosperous life 

Yakkure was established under the Mahaveli project as Upper and Lower Yakkure with Nuwaragala zone at the centre. There are four schools in the Yakkure and Nuwaragala zones. Nuwaragala Maha Vidyalaya has classes from Grade 1-13. Students can study for the A/L Examination in the Arts or the Commerce streams. This school has obtained the best Grade Five Scholarship results in the Dimbulagala Education zone. Pihiti Wewa Junior Secondary School, Ihala Yakkure and Pahala Yakkure Junior Secondary Schools have classes from Grade 1-11. Ihala Yakkure and Pihiti Wewa Schools have obtained the best O/L results in Dimbulagala education zone during the past ten years.

The six villages namely Ihala Yakkure, Pahala Yakkure, Pihiti Wewa, Nuwaragala, Dambane Wewa, Nawagaha Ela have all the facilities including drinking water, electricity, carpeted main roads and concrete side roads, and Mahaveli water for farming. Nuwaragala has a regional hospital and a post office. There is a regional hospital in Siripura. Dehiattakandiya has an A Grade base hospital with all the facilities and has the services of doctors. Buses from Nuwaragala operate regularly and reach places like Kandy, Colombo, Kurunegala, Mahiyangana, Kuliyapitiya, and Siripura. Yakkure residents have quick access to transport facilities. Their main income is derived from paddy cultivation. Representatives from major millers visit Yakkure to purchase their harvest. There are two paddy buyers near Yakkure. There are around six stores belonging to the Paddy Marketing Board. The residents are prosperous with each household possessing at least one vehicle including bicycles, three-wheelers, walking tractors, tractors, lorries, cars and vans. There is rarely any resident using a bicycle. They already live a better life and reopening the old Yakkure road back will not make any difference. They will only have access to a quicker route to reach Polonnaruwa and that too by destroying the national park.

Polonnaruwa Flood Plains National Park is one out of the four national parks which was established under Mahaveli Development Project. The area was named a national park by the gazette 309/4 dated 7.8.1984. This national park spanning 17350 hectares provides an elephant corridor for jumbos to reach Wasgamuwa and Somawithya reserves. Wild animals go to Angammadilla, Minneriya and Kawudulla national parks and the Thrikonamadu reserve through this national park. There were many discussions to reopen the old Yakkure road in the past. A proposal to reopen the Yakkure road was brought before a development committee meeting in Polonnaruwa during the former President Maithripala Sirisena’s tenure. The Department of Wildlife and Conservation was opposed to this proposal and explained to President Sirisena about the destruction the reopening of the road could cause. Sirisena advised not to open the road. He listened to Wildlife officers taking into consideration the need to protect the environment.

There is a sub species of wild elephants known as the Vil Aliya or Marsh Elephant in this national park. Swampy wetlands sustained by flood waters of the Mahaveli are home to such elephants. As more than 100,000 acres of forest area was cleared under the Mahaveli project, four national parks were established for displaced animals. After this road was closed in 1984, Yakkure residents used the Nuwaragala – Siripura road. The road has not been used for 36 years.

Flood Plains National Park is mentioned in Paragraph 2(1) of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. Environmental Lawyer, Jagath Gunawardena said that Paragraph 3 of the Ordinance states that a road which has not been used for two years does not belong to the people. Therefore no one can claim the right for a road that has not been used for 36 years, he said. According to the Paragraph 5, National parks can be visited only for animal observation or studies with the prior approval of the Department of Wildlife and Conservation, he added.
Whether the real reason behind the construction of this road is linked to desire for sand deposits in Mahaveli or treasures in this zone is suspicious. Or else the construction of the road could be aimed at obtaining 5000 votes from Yakkure residents.

When inquired, Department of Wildlife and Conservation Deputy Director for Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa, W. M. K. S. Chandrarathna he said that the department was opposed to the illegal reopening of this road. He also said that people from Yakkure never requested the road to be reopened. “Claims made that the road was used till 2005 are false. Hadapanwilluwa is inundated and the road is unusable. Since the road is in a flood plain, it gets inundated during the rainy season. Manampitiya also gets inundated like the old Yakkure road,” he added.
He also commented on the preparation of an Environmental Assessment Report regarding this road with the involvement of Polonnaruwa Government Agent.

According to the Wildlife Act, no one can enter a wildlife zone for an assessment without the prior approval of the Department of Wildlife and Conservation. The Department also does not allow anyone to do so. The claims made on the presence of a cane field in this area are also false. There are many valuable varieties of wood. Cows who graze in this area are slaughtered for meat and not rared for milk. Not only flood plains, archaeologically valuable places are also destroyed as a result, he added.

Hard questions for the minister 

Here is the phone conservation we had with the State Minister of Wildlife Wimalaweera Dissanayake.

QWhy did you suddenly want to reconstruct the old Yakkure road?

I have already made my claim. Go and ask people in Yakkure. Moreover, do not write about them while staying in Colombo.

QI have been to Yakkure and I have written about that road.

Journalists and environmentalists claim as if I am trying to commit a national crime. Go and ask the people from Yakkure.

QThey are not demanding a road, Minister?

I didn’t build a new road, I reconstructed it because people made a request.

QUnder Mahaveli Development Project, six villages including Yakkure enjoy all facilities. Siripura and Dehiattakandiya also have every facility. So that road is no longer wanted, isn’t it?

I know everything about Mahaveli, Siripura, Dehiattakandiya and Yakkure. If someone from Yakkure gets bitten by a snake he dies because he cannot be taken to Polonnaruwa hospital.

QThere is no need go to Polonnaruwa. There is a hospital in Dehiattakandiya with all the facilities, isn’t it?

What facility? Don’t try to teach me about hospitals in my area.

QYou may be aware of many things except what’s happening in Yakkure.

Yes, I don’t want to hear those stories. Go and ask the people of Yakkure.

QThe people of Yakkure were silent until recently. They have been well off even without the road, right?

No, they were not silent. They kept requesting for the road. I have no idea about what you are talking. I didn’t go to Yakkure for my personal interests. 

QIsn’t this all targeting the sand deposit?

Minister laughs. Yakkure people need the road, so ask them.

QThe former President stopped the construction of the road as it was not environmentally friendly.

There are many things he could not do. Ask the people from Yakkure whether they need the road or not. (The minister then disconnected the phone).

There is no news about a resident dying while being transported to Polonnaruwa hospital after being bitten by a snake bite. They visit the Nuwaragala Regional Hospital and from there they go Dehiattakandiya Base Hospital which has all the facilities and the service of doctors. We do not understand Minister Dissanayake’s need to build a short road to Polonnaruwa. He suddenly comes up with the necessity to build the road despite the fact that the residents were better off without such a facility for 34 years. They are aware of indigenous treatment to cure a snake bite. Simon knew many methods of treatment. Even though Simon is not with them, his eldest son knows about his father did treatments. Those who do not prefer indigenous medicine go to Nuwaragala hospital. Considering their conditions, they are either sent to Dehiattakandiya or another hospital in an ambulance.
We earnestly tried to contact Minister Roshan Ranasinghe and also sent him a text. But there was no response. Then, we contacted his eldest brother and asked him to connect us with the Minister. We called the phone number he gave without success. We were also unable to contact Chinataka, his Secretary. When we contacted an associate of the Minister, he said that the Minister hadn’t made any statement regarding this incident.
However, before that, the Minister had told the media that since the road was used till 2005 and given that it was the closest road to Polonnaruwa it should be reopened.