ENVIRONMENT-SRI LANKA: Finger-Pointing as Power Crisis Worsens

By Feizal Samath Reprint | | Print |

Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Sep 10 2001 (IPS) - In churches, temples and mosques, people are praying for rain as Sri Lanka is in the throes of a drought that has not only cut water supply for consumption and irrigation, but also resulted in power shortages.

This Indian Ocean island, which is heavily dependant on monsoon rains for its agriculture, domestic water consumption and power generation, is experiencing its worst drought in a decade and neither a silver lining nor rain clouds are on the horizon.

Environmentalists and state power agencies point accusing fingers at the other over responsibility for the crisis amidst fears that the current two-hour power cuts per day may stretch to an unbearable daily eight hours in the next two weeks in addition to water shortages.

“We are facing a major power and water crisis and no-one, least of all the government, has offered any solutions,” said one economist. “State power agencies are looking at the clouds, hoping the monsoon will break any moment now. They don’t have any other solution to the present crisis.”

Weathermen last month predicted rains by the end of September but now they are not so sure.

Hydropower generators at reservoirs in the country’s central hill region once supplied all the power needs until the early 1990s.

Since then, thermal power from diesel or gas turbines has accounted for more than 50 percent of Sri Lanka’s needs but its capacity has not been maximised as it is too costly to the average consumer.

Power and Energy Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte and officials at the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), the monopoly power distributor, blame environment and religious groups for blocking plans to set up coal and hydropower plants, which they say would have helped prevent the present power crisis.

They are joined by some respected opposition politicians and a cross- section of the business community who agree that the delay in the proposed coal and hydro power plants has aggravated the problem.

The proposed coal-fired plant in the northwestern town of Norochcholai, is projected to meet nearly 20 percent of Sri Lanka’s power needs by 2002/3. Its construction has been opposed by environmentalists and the Catholic Church, which says it would uproot families living in the area and also deter pilgrims visiting a nearby historic church that draws thousands of people during an annual feast.

Japan, which was financing the project, has given up its funding plans after the project fell into uncertainty. The other controversial project is the hydro-electric plant at the seven beautiful waterfalls in the central region, which was opposed by the Environmental Foundation Ltd.

The organization successfully blocked the project through a court order saying the plan would ruin the aesthetic beauty of the waterfalls and also contribute to environmental degradation of the area.

“Everytime a power project is proposed, the environmentalists protest. They only protest but don’t have any solutions to offer about how the country can generate power. They don’t seem to be bothered about that,” former power minister P. Dayaratne Dayaratne was quoted as saying on television.

He agreed that there could be some environmental damage in development projects but stressed that steps could be taken to minimize the damage instead of totally abandoning the projects.

Business leaders have also expressed its dismay at the crisis saying environmentalists should be practical as the country was facing a do-or-die situation, particularly in the context of current political instability.

Environmentalists, including the Environmental Foundation Ltd (EFL), however, point out that their opposition to these projects is based on factual concerns over the impact of these plants on the environment. They accuse the CEB of corruption and lack of a national plan in deciding the country’s future needs.

“The prevailing power cuts were not the result of delays in constructing new power generation plants because both the new projects were anyway scheduled for completion only in 2002 and 2003,” argued Hemantha Withanage, an environmental scientist and EFL’s executive director. “What then are CEB plans for 2001?” he asked.

While the water levels at the giant reservoirs in hill stations are fast depleting, reducing the capacity to be drawn for both hydropower generation and water consumption, the drought has also affected the survival of close to one million people in the southern, central and northern regions of the country.

One of the most poignant reminders of the drought was a picture in the Island newspaper on August 30 showing a group of women and children collecting water in clay pots from wells in a cemetery.

“This is where fisher families of Karukapone in Chilaw (district) get their drinking water from, as well as bury their dead,” the caption said.

Last month the government appealed for international support to help families affected by the drought. Since then, foreign aid has been flowing in, coupled with the visit of a World Food Programme team to drought-stricken areas.

The team told Foreign Ministry officials last week that WFP planned to support 250,000 families in the next few months with dry rations and other benefits. Most of the victims are farmers whose rice and vegetable harvests have failed due to the drought.

Heart-rending stories in the media and television pictures of southern residents trekking dozens of kilometers for water or waiting patiently on roadsides for water bowers have struck a chord of sympathy amongst millions of Sri Lankans, triggering a huge civilian-led relief effort.

Churches, temples, mosques – while daily praying for rain – have joined dozens of other organizations in sending essential food and water to affected areas.

Many agree that widespread corruption in the CEB has been a major factor in the crisis. Newspapers have in recent months spoken of an eight billion-rupee (90 million U.S. dollars) loss which CEB has incurred since 1994 incurred due to delays in commissioning non-controversial thermal power plants plus corruption in the awarding of tenders for these projects.

Suranjith Kodituwakku of the Green Movement of Sri Lanka said that 50 percent of power used by the government and private sector could be saved if consumption was reduced in the next few weeks.

“We are experiencing 12-1/2 hours of daylight which we should make use of during the day. If the state and private sector institutions stop using air-conditioners, fans and lighting bulbs to some extent and also stop live television and radio programmes, we can save a considerable amount of electricity,” he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Observer.

Alternate technology promoters like the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) lament the failure of the government to promote rainwater-harvesting tanks in areas often affected by drought, as well as wind power energy units.