June 30, Colombo: The people, living in around the Moragahakanda irrigation project, this afternoon staged eleven protest campaigns at Naula in Matale demanding a proper system for their compensations.

Moragahakanda Irrigation project, one of the largest irrigation projects in Sri Lanka currently undergoing constructions, was inaugurated in January 2007 to develop agriculture in the north, east, and northwestern provinces. The government has allocated 40 billion rupees for the project.

The protesters stressed that they could not sign the compensation papers as they are still unaware of the amounts of compensation scheduled to grant them for their homes which have been removed for the constructions.

According to government statistics, 1,999 families will lost their homes due to this massive irrigation project.

The Director General of Mahaweli Authority, Dharmasiri De Alwis said those families will receive compensations under the valuation of government.

The Moragahakanda reservoir was the fifth reservoir planned under the Mahaweli master plan and is expected to provide a domestic and industrial water supply to Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, and Polonnaruwa and Matale districts.