Kelani Ganga River | Fourth Longest River in Sri Lanka

Kelani Ganga River | Fourth Longest River in Sri Lanka

Kelani Ganga (Sinhala: කැළණි ගඟ; Tamil: களனி கங்கை) is considered one of the major rivers in Sri Lanka. It is the fourth-longest and the second-largest watershed in the country (Kottagoda & Abeysingha, 2017). The river is 145 km long and drains an area of 2,292  km 2  (Fayas et al., 2019; Herath & Amaresekera, 2007; Kottagoda & Abeysingha, 2017; Mahagamage & Manage, 2014; Vithanage, 1988).  The river originates from the central highlands near Horton Plains National Park and Peak Wilderness Sanctuary (Fayas et al., 2019). It flows through Kitulgala, Avissawella and eventually empties into the Indian Ocean near Mattakkuliya in Colombo District (Kottagoda & Abeysingha, 2017; Mahagamage & Manage, 2014). The water is mainly used for drinking water supply, recreation, irrigation and livestock, transportation, fisheries, hydro-power generation, sand extraction, and developing activities of the country (Abeysinghe & Samarakoon, 2017; Kottagoda & Abeysingha, 2017; M…