MoU for the restoration of the Athawetuna Wewa under Sampath Bank’s Wewata Jeewayak initiative being exchanged between G. K. S. Pushpakumara, Assistant Commissioner - Puttalam District, Department of Agrarian Development (left) and Ravindra Gunawardena, Regional Manager, Sampath Bank.
Continuing to empower rural communities across the nation, Sampath Bank embarked on the restoration of the Athawetuna Wewa in Divulwewa, Anamaduwa under its flagship community outreach initiative, Wewata Jeewayak, recently. This is the 10th tank (wewa) in the country to be restored under the programme.
This is yet another timely initiative by the Bank to support the nation and empower its farming communities to overcome the challenges brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild their lives.
The 20-acre Athawetuna Wewa is the primary source of irrigation for over 60 acres of paddy fields. It also plays a key role in animal husbandry and other livelihood development activities in the Divulwewa and neighbouring villages, serving over 500 people.
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| Members of the Perakum Govi Sanvidanaya, Athawetuna Wewa breaking ground and inaugurating the tank restoration work. |
With no major maintenance work having been carried out for over 20 years, the Athawetuna Wewa’s bund has suffered considerable damage. Its waters have become shallow due to the accumulation of sludge. Its irrigation canal, sluice gates and spill too are in need of repairs.
Sampath Bank will be working together with the Perakum Farmers Association (Perakum Govi Sanvidanaya); the Department of Agrarian Development, Puttalam District Office, Chilaw; and members of the local community to renovate the tank completely. Rituals were conducted to invoke blessings on the project and the community before members of the Farmers Association commenced work on it.
“At Sampath Bank, we have always appreciated the significance of tanks (wewa) built by our kings. Being instrumental in protecting the environment, they also enable farming and other economic activity in a sustainable manner. As a bank that takes great pride in our Sri Lankan roots, we seek to play an active role in restoring these invaluable treasures and have been working on restoring them through our ‘Wewata Jeewayak’ initiative,” said Nanda Fernando, Managing Director, Sampath Bank PLC.
R. P. D. K. Jayarathna, President, Perakum Govi Sanvidanaya, Athawetuna Wewa, said, “The Athawetuna Wewa has been the lifeblood of our community, supporting agriculture, dairy farming and other economic activity. Bank’s work on restoring our tank will go a long way in helping us rebuild our lives.”
The Wewata Jeewayak programme is one of the key pillars in Sampath Bank’s community capacity building initiatives. The Bank also engages farmers on sustaining lives and livelihoods through farming, promotes organic farming and empowers agri-entrepreneurs through the Wewata Jeewayak initiative, thereby enabling them to better contribute to national development and drive economic growth.
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