Badu Pot Kurunegala 2021 -

From 1995–2010, illegal gem mining (mainly for moonstone, mica, and quartz) and later, construction granite quarrying, left behind vertical pits. When mining ceased abruptly due to a government crackdown in 2012, rainwater and underground springs filled the pits. By 2015, at least six such “badu pots” dotted the Kurunegala–Rideegama corridor. The largest — Badu Pot No. 3 — became the one universally referred to as “Badu Pot.”

By mid-2021, organized groups began renting backhoes (excavators) to dig massive trenches along the old riverbeds of the Deduru Oya. They weren't looking for irrigation; they were looking for burial pots. This led to violent clashes with the police. The term "Badu Pot" became synonymous with "illegal excavation" in local news reports. badu pot kurunegala 2021

| Challenge | Effect | |-----------|--------| | Imported aluminum pressure cookers | Cheaper, lighter, no breakage risk | | Ban on single-use plastics (2017–2021 gradual) | Slight benefit – clay pots for water storage regained demand | | Rising clay extraction fees | Some potters illegally dug at night | | No collective marketing society | Each potter sold individually to middlemen | From 1995–2010, illegal gem mining (mainly for moonstone,