Ekgaloya Reservoir and Archaeological Ruins

Ekgaloya Tank is a reservoir in Ampara District. It was constructed by Gal Oya Development Board under the Gal Oya Multipurpose Scheme in 1955-1957.
Ekgaloya Tank
Ekgaloya Reservoir

Ekgaloya Tank (or Ekgal Oya Wewa, Sinhala: එක්ගල්ඔය ජලාශය හා පුරාවිද්‍යා නටඹුන්) is a reservoir in Ampara District, Sri Lanka. It is surrounded by Senanayaka Samudraya to the west, Pallang Oya Tank to the southwest, Pannalgama Tank to the west, Ambalan Oya Tank to the east and Malayadi and Alahena tanks to the northeast.

History

The present reservoir was constructed by the Gal Oya Development Board under the Gal Oya Multipurpose Scheme in 1955-1957 (Arumugam, 1969).

Reservoir

Located in the Gal Oya River basin, the reservoir was built by impounding the waters of the Ekgal Oya stream [(or Ekgal Aru in Tamil) Arumugam, 1969]. In the late 1960s, the bund of the reservoir was about 3,700 feet long and the water was extending in an area of about 1,000 acres at its full supply level (Arumugam, 1969). The reservoir has 1 sluice and 1 spill (Arumugam, 1969).

Archaeological Ruins

Sites with some ruined buildings have been discovered in the middle of Ekgaloya reservoir as well as from the vicinity of the tank. An Early Brahmi Inscription found in a cave near the youth camp to the east of the Ekgaloya reservoir was copied by the Department of Archaeology on 5 March 1971 (Dias, 1991).

A Protected Area

Sites of the ruins of buildings with stone pillars in the middle of the Ekgal Oya tank belonging to Ekgaloya in Grama Niladari Division No. W/24/B Ekgaloya in the Divisional Secretary’s Division, Damana (latitude 07º 15801' N and longitude 081º 61287' E) are archaeological protected sites, declared by a government gazette notification published on 10 October 2014.

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References

Books, Government Gazette Notifications

1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.175.
2) Dias, M., 1991. Epigraphical notes (Nos 1 -18). Colombo: Department of Archaeology. p.4.
3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, no: 1884. 10 October 2014, p. 919.

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