Susira Kumara, one of the farmers affected, surveys his 7.4 acre (three hectare) rice field in Kallar and sighs at the crop withering under the tropical sun.

His now-useless rice plants will no longer yield grain following the blockade by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which shut sluice gates at the nearby Maalivaru canal on July 20.

Around 15,000 families farming over 35,000 acres were left without water until Tuesday evening, when it began flowing again after peace broker Norway intervened to stop a bloody conflict between rebels and government troops that flared after the blockade.

Over 440 people died in the battle to control the canal and tens of thousands were displaced in the worst fighting since a 2002 truce.

The fighting has pushed Kumara, who lives near rebel-controlled territory, and his neighbours further into debt.

"I pawned all my wife's jewellery for a chance at a good harvest," 41-year-old Kumara said at his dried-up farm. "The water has come, but the rice is dead."

He said the rice crop would have fetched him 75,000 rupees (750 dollars), just barely enough to send his two young children to school and clear debts incurred for seedlings and tractors.

"Now I am more in debt. I am now asking for government loans and assistance in time for the next planting season in September," he said, grabbing a handful of plants in his calloused hands and throwing them in the air.

"Of course I am happy that water is back," he added. "But is it a guarantee that fighting will stop?"

Fellow farmer Sarath Jayatilaka, 37, said the farming community had suffered in soaring tropical heat, since the blocked canal provided drinking and bathing water too.

"We had no water. This is not rain season. We woke up with dry fields and nothing to drink," he said. "Children and mothers had to walk long distances to fetch water from government stations. Our cattle also went thirsty."

Jayatilaka said he would try to salvage his drying rice crop, but said he would need extreme luck.

He asked: "My problem now is, how will I pay my debts?"

The head of the local Buddhist temple, monk D. Pemaratana, offered a prayer at the mouth of the canal for all those involved in the conflict.

He hoped that both sides would "think of the farmers before they exchange mortars."

"Without this water, there is no life. There are no winners in this fighting. Muslims, Tamils, Sinhalese should all live in harmony and stop blood from flowing," he said.

An army officer involved in the ground operation told AFP that the sluice gates were opened by troops on Tuesday night, and that they had regained control of Maalivaru.

"But you don't know what these terrorists can do next. We will just restore peace in the district and give the people their needs," the officer, who declined to be named, said.

Rebel forces, he said, were slowly being pushed back from Maalivaru and bordering villages. But he conceded fighting continued in other areas.

However, the Tigers said they released the water following a request from Norway.

Norway has been trying to faciliate a peaceful conclusion to the Sri Lankan conflict, which has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.