Japan to support construction of clean water supply system in Ampara District

The Government of Japan provided a grant of $ 85,682 (approx. Rs. 16 million) through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) to Provide a Clean Water Supply System at Lahugala in the Mahaoya Divisional Secretariat, Ampara District. 

The grant contract was signed on 3 March at the Ambassador’s Residence in Colombo, between Ambassador of Japan Sugiyama Akira and Green Cross Sri Lanka President Dr. Jagath Seneviratne.

The Green Cross Sri Lanka since its establishment in 2005 has made significant contributions to providing access to clean water and sanitation for communities and to ensuring the welfare and education of children and youth under the ‘water for life and peace’ program.

A village located in the dry zone with a population of 1,500 in the Lahugala GN Division is hugely deficient of clean drinking water. For most of the residents in the hamlet, water is supplied once a week through a bowser which is to a large extent insufficient for satisfying the needs of the families. Other water sources available are unsuited for drinking purposes since it is contaminated with agrochemicals which increases the risk of waterborne diseases.  To alleviate the sufferings of the local community, this grant will be utilized to construct filtering facilities, a water tank and pipelines to ensure the regular supply of clean water for all households in the rural village.

Upon receiving the grant, Dr. Seneviratne stated, “Through this project, underprivileged families in the rural areas can have clean water for their daily purposes, especially for drinking which they didn’t have for several years and we as a nation are grateful for it. The villagers suffer from kidney diseases as there is a great shortage of clean water supply and water-borne diseases in these areas are very high due to these conditions. We ensure that these barriers will be removed through this water project, giving new hope to our younger generations.

“Reports from the Mahaoya District Base Hospital prove there is a significant reduction in kidney disease patients and water-borne diseases in Tampitiya and Pulawala, where we implemented the water projects in the past, and we expect the same outcome from the Lahugala project. While thanking the Government of Japan and the Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka for entrusting us with this project, we sincerely thank The Green Cross Japan for their immense contribution in initiating this project successfully.”