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Nawagiriyawa/Divulana Wewa |
Nawagiriyawa Wewa, also known as Divulana Wewa or Navakiri Aru Reservoir (Sinhala: නවගිරියාව වැව, දිවුලාන වැව) is a reservoir situated in Gal Oya Valley in Ampara District, Sri Lanka.
History
This tank was constructed during the 1950-1954 period by impounding the waters of Nawagiri Oya (Tamil: Navakiri Aru) originating from the Friars Hood well-known hill of Veddah resident Tissahamy, bounded by Rajagala mountain range (Arumugam, 1969). The ancient Divulana tank which is believed to have been built in the pre-Christian era was connected to this tank from the north end to form a large single water body. As a result of that, some components of the Divulana tank were submerged by the waters of the newly created reservoir.
Archaeological Ruins
Presently, the components of the ancient Divulana tank (Bisokotuwa, sluice, bund and anicut) are designated archaeological monuments. These ruins emerge with the drying up of the Nawagiriyawa tank during dry seasons. Also, officials discovered a site with the ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery on two rocks near the reservoir.
The Reservoir
Nawagiriyawa Wewa is one of the tanks located in the Andella Oya Basin. The bund of the reservoir was about 2 miles in length and the water was extending in an area of about 2,700 acres at its full supply level by the late 1960s (Arumugam, 1969). It has three spills and one sluice (Arumugam, 1969).
A Protected Site
The ancient Bisokotuwa, sluice, ancient bund of the lake and the anicut in the middle of Nawagiriyawa Lake belonging to Rajagalatenna village situated in Grama Niladhari Division No. W/104/4025, Rajagalatenna South in the Divisional Secretary’s Division Uhana and the two rocks with the mound of a Stupa, buildings with stone pillars, foundations of buildings, chisel holing situated in Nawagiriyawa Lake belonging to Bandaraduwa village situated in the Grama Niladhari Division No. W/104B/2, Bandaraduwa in the Divisional Secretary’s Division Uhana are protected archaeological monuments declared by a government gazette notification published on 10 October 2014.
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Nawagiriyawa center spill |
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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.181.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, no: 1884. 10 October 2014, pp.922-923.
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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.