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Giritale Wewa |
Giritale Wewa or Giritale Tank (Sinhala: ගිරිතලේ වැව/ ගිරිතලේ ජලාශය), is a reservoir in Girithale in Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka.
History
The Giritatavapi or the Giritalawewa was constructed during the reign of King Aggabodhi II [(608-618 A.D.) Arumugam, 1969; Fernando, 1980; Ray, 1959]. This tank was fed by a branch of the Elahera Canal [(ancient Alisara canal) Ray, 1959]. Historical sources reveal that King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 A.D.) restored or enlarged the work (Arumugam, 1969).
The present reservoir was restored in 1905 (Arumugam, 1969). It was improved and enlarged during the period 1949-1952 (Arumugam, 1969).
The 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 extends into an area of about 760 acres (Arumugam, 1969). The reservoir has 2 sluices and 1 spill.
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References
Books, Journal Articles
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.
3) Ray, H.C. (Editor in chief), 1959. History of Ceylon: Vol. I: Part I. Ceylon University Press. Colombo. p.354.
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Attribution
To Whom
LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Mrs Badra Kamaladasa (Former Director General of Irrigation) for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.