Disadvantages / Advantages
Disadvantages
This Hydroelectric dam is being built on the most popular tourist river in all of Sri Lanka. This is the number one river to come to in Sri Lanka to participate in water sports. Once the dam is built, this river will no longer be a great tourist destination. The average tourist spends about $160 USD, or roughly 22720 LKR a day in Kitulgala. The disadvantage in the dam being built is all the jobs related to the tourist industry in Kitulgala will be lost, and this town’s biggest source of income will be lost. Another huge disadvantage is the change in water levels. If the dam is built, it will have full control over how much water is in the dam from day to day. One day the dam might let out a lot of water, causing the water levels to increase a lot, and then one day the dam might let out no water, causing the water levels to disappear, leaving little to no water in the river. The ferryman I interviewed said this would be a huge concern since every day many school children use his ferry to get to school. If the ferryman does not know the water conditions, it may be safe for him to do his job one day, but then the next day he might not be able to transport people across the river. If he cannot do his job, the people of Kitulgala have to walk 60km in order to cross the river on a bridge. This factor would greatly impact the whole community in a very negative way.
Advantages
There are not many advantages to the Hydroelectric Dam being built on the Kitulgala River. One big advantage, however, is the residents in the town of Kitulgala along with villages and small towns surrounding, will receive electricity. This means there can be heating and cooling in the houses, cooking will be easier, and nights will no longer be candlelit. This would be a huge change for the community, and it would improve their overall life. Another advantage that the dam will provide is jobs. A dam needs many people to supervise and maintain it, otherwise it will not run smoothly. These jobs would require some basic training, like an introduction to the dam and what to do. The jobs this dam provides would make up for all the river related jobs that were lost because of the construction of the dam.
