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Mahavilachchiya Wewa |
Mahavilachchiya Wewa (Sinhala: මහවිලච්චිය වැව) is a reservoir situated in Mahawilachchiya in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka.
History
Although the local people link the history of Mahavilachchiya reservoir to Prince Saliya the son of King Dutugemunu (161-137 B.C.), the origin of this work has not been identified. The Mayetti-vapi (also called Cayanti or Mayanti) built in Pacchimadesa by King Vasabha (67-111 A.D.) is believed to be either present Mahavilachchiya or nearby ruined Kudavilachchiya Tank (Nicholas, 1963). As revealed by chronicles, the Mayetti tank was later improved by King Udaya II [(887-898 A.D.) Arumugam, 1969; Nicholas, 1963]. Although Codrington had earlier suggested that the Mayetti tank could be the present-day Nacchaduwa or Eruwewa, neither of those reservoirs is located in the Pacchimadesa (Nicholas, 1963).
The reservoir was restored between 1955 and 1958 (Arumugam, 1969).
The Reservoir
The reservoir has been built by damming the waters of Talawe Oya (Arumugam, 1969). The bund of it is about 1.5 miles long and the water is extending in an area of about 2,400 acres at its full supply level (Arumugam, 1969). It has one spill and two sluices (Arumugam, 1969).
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References
Books, Journal Articles
1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.336.
2) Nicholas, C. W., 1963. Historical topography of ancient and medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol VI). Special Number: Colombo. Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). p.153.
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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.