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Chandrika Wewa |
Chandrika Wewa (Sinhala: චන්ද්රිකා වැව) is a reservoir situated near Embilipitiya town in Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka. Presently, the reservoir has become a stopover for tourists passing through the area. Tourists gather here to bathe and enjoy the picturesque view of the reservoir.
Chandrika Wewa Irrigation Scheme
Located in the southern part of the country, by the borders of Rathnapura and Hambanthota districts, Chandrika Wewa Irrigation Scheme is considered a part of the Udawalawe Irrigation Scheme (Wijerathna & Varma, 2006). It was started in 1957 as the first step in the Walawe Ganga basin development program (Wijerathna & Varma, 2006). Under this program, 5,000 acres of underutilized lands were developed for cultivation, and the Chandrika Wewa that supports the system was constructed in 1958 by damming one of the tributaries of the Walawe Ganga river, Hulanda Oya (Arumugam, 1969; Wijerathna & Varma, 2006).
The tank was filled with water for the first time in 1963 (Arumugam, 1969). In 2024, the government allocated 0.99 hectares of water surface area from the reservoir for a floating solar power generation pilot project.
The Reservoir
The bund of the reservoir is about 1.25 miles long and the water is extending in an area of about 1,100 acres at its full supply level (Arumugam, 1969). It has one spill and one sluice (Arumugam, 1969). It is considered the largest water body in the area.
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References
Books, Journal Articles
1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.112.
2) Wijerathna, D. and Varma, S., 2006. A farmers’ company for better price: The case of Chandrika Wewa Farmer Company, Sri Lanka. In Cali, Colombia: Research Workshop on Collective Action and Market Access for Smallholders. pp.1-28.
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Attribution
To Whom
1) Chandrika Wewa Udawalawe by ISHA37M is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
