Thursday, February 13, 2025

Delft Island

A forgotten land struggling against the tide

by damith
February 2, 2025 1:05 am 0 comment 936 views

By Shabeer Mohamed

There’s a bus from the Jaffna bus stand to Kurikattuwan that departs at 6.30 am. The only ferry to Delft Island leaves from Kurikattuwan Jetty at 8 am. If you miss it, you’ll have to wait until noon. I reached the Kurikattuwan Jetty at 7.30 a.m. There, I found a crowd of teachers, principals, Government employees, and even police officers waiting for the boat to Delft.

The boat that arrives from Delft at 6.45 a.m. reaches Kurikattuwan Jetty by 8.00 a.m. This is the first boat of the day, and it operates in both directions. Even though schools on the island start at 7.30 a.m., teachers often arrive after 9.30 a.m. due to the boat schedule. At exactly 8 o’clock, the boat Kumudini arrived at the jetty, packed with around 100 people. This wasn’t a luxurious passenger ship but a repurposed deep-sea fishing vessel converted into a transport boat.

The journey began at 8 a.m., and it was anything but smooth. Within minutes, the boat started shaking violently. A pregnant woman sat next to me, and I noticed there was no single life jacket. That dangerous journey lasted about 90 minutes. By the time we reached Delft Island, many of the passengers who had boarded with enthusiasm were utterly exhausted. The sea had been particularly rough that day, with waves so dangerous that they left everyone drained.

A lifeline in shambles

As soon as we arrived on the island, people rushed towards the only CTB bus on the island. It was in worse condition than a goods-carrying lorry. This bus, belonging to the Jaffna depot, is the primary mode of transportation for the islanders. An item that costs 100 rupees in Jaffna sells for 200 rupees here. The high cost of transporting goods to the island drives up prices. The island’s infrastructure is also in poor condition. Only a few roads are properly tarred; the rest are riddled with potholes and bumps. In some areas, especially towards the centre of the island, the roads are so bad that it’s hard to tell where the road ends and the dirt begins.

Delft Island (Neduntheevu) in the Jaffna district is a historically rich but underdeveloped island in the Palk Strait. Influenced by early Tamil kingdoms and the Chola dynasty, it later came under Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial rule. The Dutch named it after the Dutch town of Delft and introduced wild horses that still roam today. The island played a strategic role during the Civil War, leading to military presence and disruption.

Today, Delft faces significant challenges, including poor infrastructure, water scarcity, and economic struggles due to its isolation. Despite its historical and cultural significance, the island remains neglected, with limited access to essential services. This leaves its small population dependent on fishing and Palmyra-based livelihoods.

Teachers lost at sea

Damaged houses by sea waves

Damaged houses by sea waves

Delft Island is home to 1,414 families, with a population of 4,159. The island has eight schools, three schools with Advanced Level, One school until Grade 9, and four primary schools. However, the state of education is deeply concerning. In one school, five teachers and a principal serve just 13 children. Villagers expressed deep frustration about the lack of resources and attention given to Delft’s education.

“The educational status of our students is very poor,” one villager told us. “Our area is among the most backward in Sri Lanka’s educational districts. Yet, our children have to compete with schools from the Jaffna district. When our students reach the Advanced Level, they don’t get to choose their subjects. They have to study whatever is available here. Most teachers teach Christianity because that’s all we have. No one willingly comes to Delft – teachers don’t get transferred here by choice.”

“You saw the boat ride for yourself,” Jeewa, A villager said. “If the sea is rougher than today, there’s no boat service. That means teachers can’t even get here. Even though school starts at 7.30 am, teachers from outside the island often don’t arrive until after 10 am. Some teachers even get seasick and vomit during the journey. Imagine trying to teach in that state.”

At Delft Maha Vidyalaya, Principal Dayaparan said, “Our students recently won the first place in a boat rowing competition held in Colombo. There are truly talented students here. Some have even been selected for the University of Jaffna and other state universities. However, their commitment to education is low. The question ‘Why do we have to study?’ is always on their minds. Many young people dream only of taking a boat and going to sea.”

Fishermen’s struggle

Ninety percent of the people on Delft Island depend on fishing as their primary livelihood. Unfortunately, they face numerous challenges in their daily work. The most significant issue is the intrusion of Indian trawlers into Sri Lankan waters. One fisherman shared his frustration: “Indian trawlers aren’t just ordinary boats.

They are 20 to 30 percent larger than ours, and they don’t come in ones or twos, they arrive in fleets of 500 to 1,000. These trawlers use machines to drag prohibited nets across the deep sea, sweeping up not only fish but also fish eggs, corals, and everything else in their path. This has been happening for years. Our boats can’t even get close to them. When they drag their nets, they often take ours with them. We’ve lost nets worth millions of rupees this way,” Delf Fishermen’s Cooperative Society President Pathimadhasan Liliyancruz said.

They have also been continuously making complaints at the Delf police station regarding the destruction and damage of their fishing nets and boats due to Indian illegal trawlers. Copies of those complaints are still with them. However, no action has been taken against it so far. They said that the compensation alone will exceed several crores of rupees.

Pathimadhasan added, “The Sri Lankan Navy does little to stop them. They might seize a couple of boats once or twice a month, but when 500 to 1,000 trawlers enter our waters, the Navy just watches. Sometimes, the Indian trawlers are even bigger than the Navy’s boats. Every fisherman on this island has lost their nets to Indian trawlers at least once in their lifetime.”

Need for a sea dam

Another major problem is the lack of a sea dam. The island has no safe fishing harbour to park its boats. During strong winds or storms, fishermen are forced to bring their boats onto the roads. Without a sea dam, powerful waves can surge past the shore, destroying homes and property along the coastline. Despite repeated promises from successive governments, no progress has been made on building a sea dam. The fishermen told us that basic plans and drawings were prepared, but the project never moved beyond that. “Not a single stone has been laid here for a sea dam,” 53-year-old fisherman Winsan Sagayasingham said. “All we’ve gotten are empty promises,” he said.

Delft Island is a place of breathtaking beauty and resilient people, but it is also a community grappling with profound challenges. From the perilous boat journeys that teachers and students endure daily to the crumbling infrastructure and the struggles of fishermen against foreign trawlers, the island’s problems are as deep as the surrounding sea. Yet, amid these hardships, the spirit of the islanders remains unbroken. They continue to fight for their livelihoods, their children’s education, and their way of life.

But this is only the beginning of the story. Delft Island faces many more issues that demand attention and action. Next week, we shall explore further the untold struggles of this island, from drinking water shortages to corruption. Until then, let this story serve as a reminder of the resilience of those who call Delft home and the urgent need for solutions to their plight. Stay tuned for the next part, where we uncover more about the challenges and hopes of Delft Island.

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