Wadiya with no fish to dry

A dry fish wadiya built by the Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority in 2006 under a development project in the Kalpitiya PS area, to enable fishermen to dry their excess fish lies unused.

It consists of storage and other facilities and had cost Rs. 1. 2 million to build but it has not even been opened for use. Fishermen in Kalpitiya area say that it has not yet dawned on the authorities concerned that it needs to be opened and made use of. The aim of the project was to help about 270 fishermen in the Mampuri region to produce dry fish from the excess fish they catch.According to fishermen here one reason as to why the building are unused is that not enough fish is left over after the sale of fish. The catch sells fast in the shore area, leaving hardly any fish for drying.

Lorries equipped with deep freezers arrive at the shore and the fish which is sold in bulk are packed in them while small time buyers too purchase whatever is sold on the beach itself. It is alleged that the buildings have been put up without any feasible study being done before their construction.