Diyasaru Uyana Park, also known as Thalawathugoda Wetland (Sinhala: දියසරු උයන), is an urban wetland park situated in Thalawathugoda in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. The park was formerly known as the Thalawathugoda Bio-diversity Study Park.
History
Before the year 1980, the site was a paddy land used by the public. It was then used to dump the dredged materials of the new Parliament Development Project. As a result of that, the site gradually became a marshy land swallowed by natural vegetation. However, the site was subjected to land encroachment by people as well as by some invasive plants such as Wel-atha, Acacia and Diyapara.
The site is situated in a flood detention area and therefore, it already has become an important wetland that helps to clean the polluted water of the Thalawathugoda catchment area before they reach Parliament Lake Diyawannawa. However, the flash flood that occurred in 2010, emphasized the proper management of flood retention areas including the Thalawathugoda wetland. Therefore, under flood-controlling projects, this wetland was also chosen to develop and during this process, the mainland was demarcated through a boundary canal and some of the middle canals. As a result of that, the mainland was fragmented into several small islands improving a proper drainage system as well as preventing illegal land encroachment by the people.
Park
The park which consists of marshy lands, woody patches, artificially created canals, and ponds is extending over an area of about 60 acres. It provides habitats for a wide range of wetland species including birds, butterflies, insects, dragonflies, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, fishes, and other terrestrial and aquatic plant species. Among the species found in this wetland, the fishing cat, otter, and crocodile are considered important.
Wooden walkways, observation towers & decks, information boards, resting huts & benches, and boat ride facilities are available at the park for visitors.
Attribution
Location Map
This page was last updated on 21 April 2023