Kalu Ganga River | Ancient Kanha Nadi Kalu Ganga (Sinhala: කළු ගඟ; Tamil: களுகங்கைை) is considered one of the major rivers in Sri Lanka. It is the 10th longest river and the second-largest river by discharge volume in the country (Katupotha, 2011; Schulz & Kingston, 2017; Vithanage, 1988). The river is 129 km long and drains an area of 2,292 km 2 (Ampitiyawatta & Guo, 2009; Panditharathne et al., 2019; Schulz & Kingston, 2017; Vithanage, 1988). Kanha-nadi or Kala-nadi were the ancient names used to identify Kalu Ganga river (Nicholas, 1963). The river originates from the central hills of the wet zone at an altitude of 2,250 m (Ampitiyawatta & Guo, 2009; Panditharathne et al., 2019). It flows through the western hill slopes of the island and eventually empties into the Indian Ocean at Kalutara (Ampitiyawatta & Guo, 2009). In addition to agriculture, the water of the river is used for drinking water schemes and mini and medium-scale hydropower generation stations (Panditharathne et al., 2019). River basin T…
