Abstract:
This is an analytical study on the social impact of chronic poverty in the rural
sector in Sri Lanka. According to the statistics of the Department of Census
and Statistics, the Ridimaliyadda Divisional Secretariat (DSD) of Badulla
District is one of the major chronic poverty-stricken areas of Sri Lanka.
Though all the successive Government has implemented many poverty
reduction programs, there is still chronic poverty at a different level in
different areas of Sri Lanka. This study examines the social impact of chronic
poverty in Rideemaliyadda DSD. It is randomly selected 25 families from 02
Grama Niladhari Divisions with the highest rate of poverty. The study is based
on primary and secondary data under mixed methods. The secondary data
were collected from the Department of Census & Statistics, Centre for Poverty
Analyse, Badulla Divisional Secretariat Office, Ridimaliyadda DSD. MS
Excel & Arc GIS were used to analyze the data charts, Maps and tables were
produced to present data, Lower education, lack of permanent jobs, lack of
lands for agriculture, caste, powerlessness are the major social impact of the
chronic poverty.
