Sabaragamuwa Province Research Articles

Exploring women's hygiene practices in underserved communities: A case study in Elapatha rural area, Sabaragamuwa province, Sri Lanka

The results of this case study focus on the prevalence of exploring women's hygiene practices regarding “period poverty" in selected areas of Sri Lanka, which is defined as a lack of resources for menstruation management, cultural stigma, and insufficient financial means. In the Elapatha rural area of the Rathnapura district in the Sabaragamuwa province of Sri Lanka, we carried out a cross-sectional case study regarding 4 MOH areas in 2023. Data on girls and women's menstrual histories, health-seeking behaviors, sample size (427), access to sanitary materials, and financial status were gathered for the study. According to overall findings, the average value of women who use pads is 17.28% and that of women who use clothes is 72.35%, respectively. While the percentage of school-aged children who use pads is less than 26%, most upper-middle-aged women use cloth. Over 75% of the women reported having menstrual problems and using "old clothes" as a sanitary product at some point in their lives, underscoring the dearth of availability of appropriate menstrual hygiene products. Studies recorded that living in distant and MOH regions, not having a government hospital in the Elapatha secretarial division, having low finances, and having less education were all linked to poor facilities. The study on period poverty becomes even more pertinent in light of Sri Lanka's current economic struggles, underscoring the necessity of reducing the cost of menstrual hygiene products. To help women in Sri Lanka better manage their menstruation, we suggest measures to lower the cost of menstrual hygiene products and to provide comprehensive reproductive health education to adolescent girls and women.

Effectiveness of a Disaster Management Education Program among Youth: A Case Study in Three Disaster-prone Provinces


 
 
 Environmental Education has emerged to integrate knowledge on the need to conserve and to protect the natural environment and to minimize hazards associated with the polluted environment and natural disasters. The present study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental education programme conducted among participants of National Youth Corps (NYC) training centres. NYC recruits two batches per annum within the age group of 15–26 years. The survey was carried out in year 2019 for its first batch at three provinces: Southern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa. A workshop was conducted for all the trainees by the Disaster Management Centre followed by a two-day disaster drill programme to apply the theoretical knowledge into practice. Total intake of 5688 NYC recruits were reported in this year. 1062 of them were selected from 8 NYC training centres out of 14 total centres located within the three provinces that are considered as prone to natural disasters. A quota sampling approach was used to obtain a representative sample from these districts. Selected participants were advised to complete two self-administered questionnaires: one before the workshop and the other soon after completion. Knowledge and attitudes were measured, and the scores were compared with the hypothesis that participants reported higher scores after the workshop. Knowledge and attitudes toward disaster preparedness was evaluated before and after conducting the workshop. 71% from Southern province (Tsunami); 60% from Sabaragamuwa (landslide); and 75% of North Central province (flood) reported prior experience of natural disasters. The level of awareness of having either a local disaster management plan or a local person responsible for disaster preparedness was low. Only 14.8% from Southern, 11.0% from North Central, 17.0% from Sabaragamuwa Province knew the presence of a local DMP in which 15.0%, 19.3% and 21.6% respectively, knew the presence of the DM personal. About 75% from Southern province, 64% from North Central province and 84% from Sabaragamuwa province were not aware of the existence of an early warning system. An increase in the positive attitude was observed and the perceived change in behavioral change of the trainees have increased after the study. They were highly motivated in assisting disasters in a real situation and were willing to volunteer in minimizing the environmental hazards associated with environmental degradation. Despite the high motivation, lack of experience indicates the need for inclusion of disaster management training into National Youth Corps curriculum with annual educational activities after the initial training. The assessment framework established by this study could facilitate regular inspection and verify various disaster management tasks, in-order to enhance youth capability in response to disasters.
 Keywords: Environmental education, Disaster management, Youth, Knowledge enhancement, Attitude change
 
 

Study of BOD: COD Ratio as an Indicator for Wastewater of Rubber Industry Sector

When considering the rubber industry sector, the most significant challenge is the efficient wastewater treatment before discharging it into the natural environment. The rubber industry is considered to be highly chemical and water-intensive: and involves enormous quantitative s of waste production. The ratio between Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a widely used parameter in characterising wastewater and then the same was used in this study as an indication to measure the efficiency of wastewater treatment plant operated in the rubber industry sector. Data for the study was extracted from samples collected from 10 wastewater treatment plants of rubber industries in the Sabaragamuwa Province; two samples from each representing before and after treatment. The samples were tested in two replicated for BOD5, COD, pH, and conductivity. These selected rubber factories contain lagoon/pond type wastewater treatment systems or activated sludge wastewater treatment systems. The results showed that the treated wastewater samples were within the range of 0.1–0.4 of BOD5: COD and were below the BOD5: COD permissible level as per CEA standards. (General standards for rubber in inland surface waters; Latex-BOD 60, COD 400; Lanka rubber/crepe rubber–BOD 50, COD 400) comparing the BOD, COD, pH, and conductivity influent and effluent of the treatment process proves the effectiveness of each treatment plant of the relevant industry. Tested samples show a high BOD5: COD ratio in influent and effluent of wastewater treatment system indicate that wastewater of the industry is easily biodegradable. However, more research comparing the characteristics of different rubber manufacturing processes is needed to develop this approach further. 
 Keywords: BOD, COD, BOD: COD ratio, Wastewater treatment plant

Role of field level extension officers in development interventions: Evidence from Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka

The government of Sri Lanka implemented a range of developmental interventions to eliminate poverty by enhancing agricultural productivity, income diversification and economic growth in rural areas. The "Divineguma" (Livelihood upliftment) program was one such massive-scale livelihood improvement program that had multiple interventions at different levels. The intermediaries who link the government and the beneficiaries are the field-level extension officers (EOs). The beneficiaries have severely criticized the field-level extension service, especially the assistance on agricultural interventions. This study was done to examine the roles of the field-level EOs and beneficiaries’ perceptions regarding the knowledge, skills, and personal qualities of the EOs in the implementation of this rural development program, with special relevance to home gardens. A survey study was carried out in the Elapata Divisional Secretary division in Ratnapura district with a sample size of 150 beneficiaries. Beneficiaries perceived that the EO’s were influential in the startup motives of the participants but in follow-up roles, which are the most important roles for the success of the home garden program, were not fulfilled by these EOs. The participants also perceived that the field-level EOs were not well prepared when communicating with the participants and always neglected the importance of feedback in the communication process and they were not fully committed to the activities related to the home garden program. This study reveals that policymakers should constantly review the performance of the EOs and assess their training requirements.

Antibiotic resistance through the lens of One Health: A study from an urban and a rural area in Sri Lanka.

This study aimed to investigate and compare the proportion of AMR Escherichia coli (E. coli) between urban (Dompe in the Western province) and rural (Dambana in the Sabaragamuwa province) areas in Sri Lanka. The overall hypothesis of the study is that there is a difference in the proportion of AMR E. coli between the urban and the rural areas. Faecal samples were collected from healthy humans (n = 109), dairy animals (n = 103), poultry (n = 35), wild mammals (n = 81), wild birds (n = 76), soil (n = 80) and water (n = 80) from both areas. A total of 908 E. coli isolates were tested for susceptibility to 12 antimicrobials. Overall, E. coli isolated from urban area was significantly more likely to be resistant than those isolated from rural area. The human domain of the area had a significantly higher prevalence of AMR E. coli, but it was not significantly different in urban (98%) and rural (97%) areas. AMR E. coli isolated from dairy animals, wild animals and water was significantly higher in the urban area compared with the rural area. There was no significant difference in the proportion of multidrug resistance (MDR) E. coli isolated from humans, wild animals and water between the two study sites. Resistant isolates found from water and wild animals suggest contamination of the environment. A multi-sectorial One Health approach is urgently needed to control the spread of AMR and prevent the occurrences of AMR in Sri Lanka.

Prevalence and determinants of dyslipidemia among adults in the community: A cross-sectional study in a selected province, Sri Lanka

BackgroundDyslipidemia is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and determinants of dyslipidemia among adults in a rural community in Sabaragamuwa province of Sri Lanka. MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged between 30 and 60 years. Participants were selected using a three staged random sampling method. The WHO STEPS wise approach was used to collect data. Chi-square tests, independent sample t-test and binary logistic regression were used to obtain prevalence and determinants for dyslipidemia. ResultsThere were 366 participants with a male to female ratio of 1:2.1. Mean age was 45.2 years (SD = 8.8). The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 64.2 % overall, with 39.9 %,29 %,37.7 %, and 21.3 % for high total cholesterol (TC), low high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high triglycerides respectively. Increasing age, physical inactivity, low fruit and/or vegetable consumption and higher BMI were significantly associated with dyslipidemia. ConclusionTwo in every three adults in the community have dyslipidemia. High LDL-C was the most prevalent component of dyslipidemia followed by low HDL-C. Multisectoral intervention strategies are needed considering the predictors identified to combat with high prevalence of dyslipidemia in this population.

How Do Demand, Supply, and Institutional Factors Influence SME Financial Inclusion: A Developing Country Perspective

Greater access to finance by SMEs in developing countries is one of the most import powerful strategies to reduce poverty and unemployment issues and promote economic growth. The main objective of this study is to construct financial inclusion index for SMEs and identify the determinants of SMEs’ financial inclusion. The data are collected from the primary survey conducted in Sabaragamuwa province using the Stratified Random sampling method to achieve the abovementioned aims. A sample of 139 SMEs is used to analyze the data from a well-structured questionnaire. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multiple Regression Analysis are applied to construct an index and identifying factors. The study’s findings reveal that the financial inclusion index for SMEs is weighted equally by access and quality of the financial services as the pillars. Further, the financial inclusion of SMEs is mainly determined by demand-side factors (ability to manage economic changes, proffer record keeping, and willingness to expand the business), supply-side factors (collateral requirements and application procedure), institutional factors (ownership type and sector of the firm), and some demographic characteristics of owner-manager of SMEs. The study recommends that the state bankers, commercial bankers, and policymakers should put in place policies that encourage financial service providers to set up their operations close and incorporate innovative approaches to ensure that they adopt technologies and financial services that are more accessible.

An Assessment of Power Distance and Leadership Styles in Agro-Based Small-Medium Enterprises in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka

Tropical Agricultural Research and Extension is a peer-reviewed international scientific journal covering a wide range of subject areas in tropical and subtropical agriculture published quarterly by the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. The journal is also available on the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna website https://www.agri.ruh.ac.lk/tare/index.htm .

Prevalence and Determinants of Selected Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: A cross-sectional study among Adults in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka

Introduction: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of selected risk factors of CVDs and their associations with socio-demographics and anthropometrics factors among adults in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged between 30-60 years. Participants were selected using a three staged random sampling method. The WHO STEPS wise approach was used to collect data. Results: There were 366 participants with a male to female ratio of 1:2.1. The mean age was 45.2 years (SD=8.8). Approximately two-thirds (63.4%) of the participants were physically inactive. Prevalence of high blood pressure, high blood glucose level, high total cholesterol level, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level and high triglycerides were 27.0%, 22.1%, 39.9%, 37.7%, 29.0%, and 37.7% respectively. The mean values of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and triglyceride level were significantly higher among men, whereas mean values of HDL, LDL, waist circumference and BMI were higher in women. Mean SBP, DBP and prevalence of blood pressure increased with age. Mean waist circumference, BMI, total cholesterol, and triglyceride level increased with the years of education. Conclusion: The prevalence of CVD risk factors was considerably high in this population. Therefore, it is essential to plan public health interventions considering the population characteristics associated with CVD risk factors.
 
 Keywords: Adults, Cardiovascular disease, Risk factors, Sri Lanka, WHO STEP wise approach

Trichoglottis longifolia (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Vandeae: Aeridinae), a new species from Sri Lanka

Trichoglottis longifolia Atthan., C. Bandara, N.L. Bandara & Kumar sp. nov. is described and illustrated as a new species from Sri Lanka. So far, the genus was represented by a single species in Sri Lanka, Trichoglottis tenera. The new species can be easily distinguished from T. tenera in having longer leaves, yellowish-green flowers with lanceolate dorsal sepal and petals and a longer spur. This species occurs in sub-montane forests in Sabaragamuwa Province and categorized as Endangered based on the available data.

Behavioral Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases among Adults: Results from a Community-Based Study in Sabaragamuwa province, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Journal of Medicine is the official journal of the Kandy Society of Medicine. It is a peer-reviewed journal currently published biannually. Original articles, reviews, brief reports, case reports, points of view, and letters to the editor, in all fields of medical science and practice are accepted for publication.The Sri Lanka Journal of Medicine is now indexed in DOAJ

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Flood Resilience Plan for Urban Sustainability of Ratnapura Municipal Council Area

Natural disasters adversely affect urban built-up areas all over the world. Flood is the most destructive natural disaster that affects Ratnapura, the provincial capital of the Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka. This monsoonal flooding is a prolonged problem that arises mainly due to the overspill of River Kalu and other water bodies connected to the river during heavy rainy seasons. It causes short-term and long-term damages to human lives, properties, the economy, and the environment. Floods cause severe damages to private residential buildings. Hence, the availability of a flood resilience plan is a significant feature of the good governance of the Local Authorities. There are many factors to consider when preparing a flood resilience plan. This study aims to assess the factors affecting the effectiveness of the existing flood resilience plan in the Ratnapura Municipal Council Area. The main data instrument used is a questionnaire survey from residents in the flood-prone area. It assessed the effectiveness of actions taken by the government pre-disaster, during a disaster, and post-disaster. Various factors affecting the flood resilience plan were identified and categorized: community resilience, economic resilience, ecological resilience, emergency readiness and responsiveness, infrastructure resilience, and social and cultural resilience. Findings revealed that the respondents were more satisfied with emergency readiness and responsiveness out of the five main categories. In addition, respondents address the effectiveness of the existing flood resilience plan and its affected factors like community resilience, economic resilience, emergency readiness and responsiveness, infrastructure resilience and social, and cultural resilience. Findings will be helpful for town planners and the Municipal Council of Ratnapura to identify flood resilience strategies through community perspectives to mitigate the flood hazard and propose innovative strategies to achieve urban sustainability and build resilient communities.

GIS-based spatial analysis of landslides in Rathnapura District, Sri Lanka

The levels of landslide hazards are dependent on land physical attributes, agriculture practices and other human activities. Landslides are a serious concern in steep land areas where intensive storms are common. Southwest monsoon brought heavy rains and strong winds to Sri Lanka. Rathnapura District is a landslide prone area in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka due to southwest monsoonal rain. GIS technologies could provide a powerful tool to model the landslide hazards for their spatial analysis and prediction. This is because the collection, manipulation and analysis of the environmental data on landslide hazard can be accomplished much more efficiently and cost effectively. The objective of this study was to identify the spatial distribution of landslides in Rathnapura district. Four variables, slope, elevation, rainfall, soil type and land use, were evaluated as landslide inducing factors in the area. Eighteen Divisional Secretariat Divisions in Rathnapura district was the sampling area for the study. Four Landslide locations and risk areas in the area were identified by GPS coordinates and soil samples were collected in identified areas. Grain size distribution that was used to classify the soil was done by sieve analysis. Stream ordering was calculated by Shreve and Strahler method and the water volume, number of streams and slope gradient were analyzed to create classified layer of slope, rainfall intensity, land use, drainage and slope. Classified layers were weighted according to their contribution percentage for the landslides. By applying weighted overlaying method, study area was categorized into five groups as high-risk area, risk area, moderate risk area, low risk area and no risk area. Natural factors like slope, soil type and drainage density as well as man-made factors are caused for the landslides in the area. Landslide events in Rathnapura district are strongly correlated to many factors. As slope increased, the percentage of land affected by landslides, when the soils were saturated, increased sharply on land used for crop production, indicating that agricultural activity and the associated removal of deep-rooted permanent vegetation increased the landslide hazard on steep sites.

When Generous Gods Offer “Backhoe-Arm Load of Gems”*: Folk Ideas Found among Gem Miners of the Sabaragamuwa Region

Global research into folkloric speech acts, like folktales, folksongs and folk drama, have revealed a rich body of concealed cultural conventions and concepts, prompting the folklorist Alan Dundes to identify such events as ‘autobiographical ethnography,’ or the way in which a group of people would portray themselves. The present study focuses on potential cultural conjecture that could be located in a body of regional folktales found among a group of people engaged in a specific vocation, gem mining. These folktales are published as Sabaragamuwe Menik Kathandara saha Sinharaje Withthi (Gem-related Tales from Sabaragamuwa and the Happenings of the Sinharaja Forest) by their collector Tharindu Sudharshana Abeysinghe. This study intends to locate the folkloric postulate of ‘folk ideas’ embedded in the tales with the objective of cultural comprehension, especially considering the important role attributed to the gem industry in Sri Lanka’s contemporary economy. Texts in public circulation tend to reproduce the material sphere of their surroundings—literally and metaphorically—and could lend themselves to an analysis of the social conditions of their production. This study intends to achieve such an objective through a close-reading of a group of texts whose creators/raconteurs/audience were people involved in gem mining in the Sabaragamuwa province. Through a close analysis of ‘folk ideas’ this study intends to understand how the miners involved in extracting valuable stones from the bowels of the earth position themselves against their material conditions.

Job satisfaction and associated factors among Public Health Inspectors in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka: pre-COVID-19 era

Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences (SLJSS) publishes social science articles on topics relevant to Sri Lanka in particular and South Asia in general. The journal also has a website at http://www.nsf.gov.lk/.

Measuring of Regional Growth Performance using Shift Share Analysis with Special Reference to Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka

The Shift-Share analysis is an effective tool that is widely applied in regional economic research to understand regional growth change during a certain period. The objective of this paper is to review the recent growth performance of the Sabaragamuwa Province which is nine provinces in Sri Lanka, applying the Shift Share tool to give an insight into its growth performance for effective policy formulation. Employment data were taken for this analysis from the Annual Report of Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics in the year 2013 and 2018 and Excel spreadsheets were used to perform the analysis. According to the statistics, the province has reported a negative change in employment during the period of 2013-2018 indicating a huge job loss. According to the Shift Share analysis, it is found that this job loss was primarily due to the unfavorable National Share (NS) since the overall national growth rate of the country was minus during this analysis period. The Industry Mix (IM) effect was considerably favorable since 70 percent of industries were able to increase their jobs. Agriculture is the main industry which lost a large number of jobs due to the declining trend of the agricultural sector at the national level. Results also show that the region is fairly competitive since its overall Regional Share (RS) value was positive representing a job-saving at the regional level. This job saving is due to the 40 percent of leading industries in the regions. Agriculture is the main industry sector which has performed well in the region. Results of the analysis suggest that a strong policy intervention both at the regional and the national level is essential to boost up the growth performance of the region.

A Study of the Pattern of Admissions to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Sri Lanka.

Introduction The latest national healthcare reform policies of Sri Lanka include the development of accident and emergency (A&E) departments in all major hospitals. Provincial General Hospital Kurunegala (PGHK) is a home to the first established A&E department in Sri Lanka. PGHK provides services to a population of 2.4 million spread out in the North Western Province and part of the Sabaragamuwa Province. This study was carried out to identify the pattern of all admissions to the A&E department of PGHK. Methods The prospective observational study was carried out from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017 (one year) to identify the pattern of admissions to the A&E department. Results There were 49,213 admissions to PGHK's A&E department during the study period. The average number of admissions was 135 (±17.9) per day. The percentage of deaths in the A&E department was 0.21%. The mean age of admitted patients was 46.7 (±21.7) years. A further 62% of admitted patients were males. The number of medical, surgical, paediatric, and gynaecological and obstetrical admissions was 55%, 42%, 3.5%, and 0.22%, respectively. Among the common emergency medical presentations, 34% were chest pain, 11% patients presented with unilateral weakness and/or slurring of speech, 10% covered dyspnoea, and 9% complained of dizziness/giddiness. Among emergency surgical presentations, 83% were trauma due to accidents, of which 27% were road-traffic-related accidents (RTAs). Discussion. The A&E department of PGHK provides services to a significantly high number of health emergencies every day. The majority of these admissions was due to chest pain and trauma related to accidents. The lower recorded number of paediatric and gynaecological and obstetrical emergencies presented to the A&E department is a result of a government policy mandating the admission of these types of patients directly to their respective wards. Further infrastructure development, staff recruitment, and training have to be planned and implemented to address the significantly high number of admissions to the A&E Department of PGHK.

Vegetation dynamics of ephemeral and perennial streams in mountainous headwater catchments

Ephemeral and perennial streams of mountainous catchments in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka and Hong Kong of China were studied for two years on vegetation dynamics. Each year, sampling was conducted during a period when ephemeral streams had low surface flows. Sampling was realized contiguously using belt transects. The standing crop biomass (hereafter biomass) of herbaceous vegetation in ephemeral channels was comparatively lower than perennials and so was the herb diversity. Herb diversity showed a peak from 1.5 to 4.5 m from the centerline/thalweg of ephemeral and perennial streams. Out of 24 herbs, only three were common for both. A peak herb biomass zone was observed in perennials in the same region where diversity peaked. In ephemerals, herb biomass increased laterally up to ∼1.5 m, and was constant thereafter. Seedling experiment results tallied with the field diversity observations of both stream types, and suggested that seed dispersion was the main reason for herb colonization. Furthermore, it showed sapling emergence to be significantly higher in perennials than ephemerals. Return period of annual maximum monthly rainfall was a strong indicator of age of trees in ephemeral streams, and elucidated the possibility of hindcasting past flow episodes. Electrical conductivity was significantly high in ephemeral streams among all the water quality parameters. The contents of the water nutrients were approximately the same in both stream types. While recommending further studies on eco-hydrology of ephemerals, we recognize ephemeral streams to be valuable references in climate change studies due to their responsiveness and representativeness in long term hydrological changes.

Assessing Soil Erosion Hazards Using Land-Use Change and Landslide Frequency Ratio Method: A Case Study of Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka

This study aims to identify the vulnerable landscape areas using landslide frequency ratio and land-use change associated soil erosion hazard by employing geo-informatics techniques and the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model. Required datasets were collected from multiple sources, such as multi-temporal Landsat images, soil data, rainfall data, land-use land-cover (LULC) maps, topographic maps, and details of the past landslide incidents. Landsat satellite images from 2000, 2010, and 2019 were used to assess the land-use change. Geospatial input data on rainfall, soil type, terrain characteristics, and land cover were employed for soil erosion hazard classification and mapping. Landscape vulnerability was examined on the basis of land-use change, erosion hazard class, and landslide frequency ratio. Then the erodible hazard areas were identified and prioritized at the scale of river distribution zones. The image analysis of Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2019 indicates a significant increase in cropping areas (17.96%) and urban areas (3.07%), whereas less dense forest and dense forest coverage are significantly reduced (14.18% and 6.46%, respectively). The average annual soil erosion rate increased from 14.56 to 15.53 t/ha/year from year 2000 to 2019. The highest landslide frequency ratios are found in the less dense forest area and cropping area, and were identified as more prone to future landslides. The river distribution zones Athtanagalu Oya (A-2), Kalani River-south (A-3), and Kalani River- north (A-9), were identified as immediate priority areas for soil conservation.

Two new species of the spider genus Wanniyala Huber amp; Benjamin, 2005 (Araneae: Pholcidae) from Sri Lanka.

Two new species of the spider genus Wanniyala Huber Benjamin, 2005 are described from Sri Lanka: W. badulla sp. nov. (Uva Province; male and female) and W. batatota sp. nov. (Sabaragamuwa Province; male and female). In addition, new records of W. mudita Huber, 2019 (Western Province; male) and W. viharekele Huber, 2019 (Southern Province; male and female) are provided.