The Mahaweli Authority says that the water available in the Udawalawa Reservoir is only enough for 70 days for Yala season crops.
Its Deputy Resident Manager, Mr. Thilak Ranasinghe, stated that currently the Udawalawa Reservoir has a water capacity of 198,000 acre feet.
Accordingly, the amount of water required for cultivation in the whole yala season is three lakh acre feet.
He further said that arrangements have been made to get the remaining amount of water from the Samanala Lake reservoir.
This year, 40% of the Udawalawa Reservoir will be for paddy cultivation, and the remaining 60% will be for cultivating additional crops.
Accordingly, the amount of paddy cultivated in the Yala season is 11,000 hectares.