Giritale Wewa

History

The Giritala Vapi or the Giritala Wewa was constructed during the reign of King Aggabodhi II [(608-618 A.D.) Arumugam, 1969; Fernando, 1980]. Historical sources reveal that King Parakramabahu the Great (777-797 A.D.) restored or enlarged the work (Arumugam, 1969).

The present reservoir was restored in 1905 and it was improved and enlarged during the period 1949-1952 (Arumugam, 1969).

Reservoir

The catchment area serves as the main water source to the reservoir and in addition to that, the water of Amban Ganga comes to the reservoir through the Elahera Dam (Arumugam, 1969). The embankment of the reservoir is 518.16 m long and the water is extending in an area of about 760 acres (Arumugam, 1969). The reservoir has 2 sluices and 1 spill.

References

1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.241.

2) Fernando, A.D.N., 1980. Major ancient irrigation works of Sri Lanka. Journal of the Sri Lanka Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 22, pp.1-24.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 28 March 2021
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