Sri Lanka is in the throes of one of its worst droughts in recent memory and alarm bells have been already sounded by the concerned authorities, with the Met Department forecasting that the prevailing dry spell could extend to even May. Already over half a million people have been affected by the drought, with daily TV footage showing large expanses of parched earth and dying crops. Livestock too have fallen prey to the drought, with carcasses of cattle strewn across the arid terrain.
The World Bank has estimated the impact of the drought on Sri Lanka’s economy to be at US $ 1,080 (Rs.150 billion) while President Sirisena has called for UN, FAO and WFP involvement in drought relief measures.
Drinking water has become a precious liquid to most in the drought affect areas, with television showing pot carrying villagers trekking far afield to fetch what remained of the muddy water in the dried up wells and other water sources. The authorities have sprung into action, dispatching water bowsers to the far flung villagers, badly hit by the drought. The President has also appointed a Multi Institutional Task force to deal with the crisis while other contingency plans have been put into place to confront emergency situations.
The people of Rajarata, it may seem, have been delivered a double blow by the drought, with its multitude of kidney patients starved of water, threatening to exacerbate the problem. The authorities should lose no time in dispatching purified water to the kidney patients in order to alleviate their suffering.
Natural disasters, such as floods and droughts, are visited upon us without warning and whatever contingency plan drawn up is bound to fall well below expectations. The present drought is no exception. But there are measures that could be taken to mitigate the disaster such as conservation of water and energy. For this, the cooperation of the wider public is called for. The President, no less, has called for the switching off of all Air conditioners in all state institutions until the situation improves, with an appeal going to the private sector too in this regard. Calls have also gone out from the CEB to customers to switch off lights and use electricity with restraint, with the drastic decrease in the water levels in the Hydro catchments. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board too have appealed for water to be used sparingly.
Restrictions in the water supply and electricity have been sounded if the situation worsens. Hence the need for drastic measures to curb over-consumption of water and electricity and the appeals gone out to the public in this regard.
But, whether our largely, gadget oriented, present generation heed these appeals is another matter. Not just the young, even the grownups are wont to act in callous fashion. It is hard to comprehend addicts of the multifarious teledramas, switching off their TV sets just to comply with a government request to conserve electricity. Into the bargain we have the next segment of the South African Cricket tour where the one day matches, which is a bigger draw than the tests, will unfold, with the games going late into the night. It is difficult to imagine that cricket fans will forgo the pleasure of watching the Lankan team in action just to please the government. With the cricket mania what it is today in this country, there is little doubt that there is going to be a heavy draw on the national grid during the One Day series.
But the public cannot be faulted for the present energy crisis. All governments procrastinated over the power projects, fearing a negative political fallout. To his credit, Mahinda Rajapaksa went ahead with the Norochcholai project, overcoming the objections, but for which the energy crisis would have been exacerbated. The government should, at least, at this stage, think of going for alternative energy sources to meet the ever increasing demand. Besides, the foreign investors who are expected to descend on the country, in their numbers, in the near future, are bound to frown on power cuts.
Be that as it may, it is hoped that the general public, particularly the urbanites, would restrict their use of water and electricity until the crisis is overcome. Vehicle owners should find alternative means for washing their vehicles. They could easily do this at some river or canal bank instead of using the water from the main supply. Housewives too can help by restricting the watering of plants at their homes. Water taps could be opened partially, without turning them at full force. The young too could assist by cutting their time at the computer or by knocking off fans or ACs.
This country has seen through many calamitous situations in the past, such as the Boxing Day Tsunami, and come out the better for it. This is because as a nation we are known to be a resilient one. Similarly it is certain that we will see through this crisis situation and be better for the experience which will equip the authorities to deal with similar crisis in the future successfully.
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