Sri Lankan farmers continue to agitate demanding water and pension scheme

Farmers in the Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura Districts of Sri Lanka continue to protest demanding for water for their paddy cultivations and a farmers' pension scheme. Over 2,000 farmers from seven villages in the Nuwaragala area in Polonnaruwa have protested calling on authorities to provide them with adequate water for their agricultural activities.
The farmers have said that their cultivations were facing risk of complete destruction due to the lack of water. Already paddy lands of over a 100 farmer families in the Giritale irrigation system have been destroyed completely due to the lack of irrigation water. The rains that have been recorded in many parts of the country have not had an impact on the agricultural areas in the North Central Province. Meanwhile, farmers in the Anuradhapura District have commenced an agitation demanding a farmers' pension scheme. They claim that the authorities have not paid them the farmers' pension that is due to them and has called for the re-payment of the pension.