aad correlje Archives — LIRNEasia


The Kantale dam breached twenty five years ago, in April 1986. It cost 176 lives, LKR 65 million in relief only, LKR 186 million to repair the dam, uncounted amounts to repair damage to infrastructure, livelihoods and private property and still haunts the survivors. A documentary on Kantale, 19 years later, made in 2005 by Divakar Goswami, serves as a virtual memorial. But do we remember? Have we done what needs to be done to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of our people living in the shadow of the dams?