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Kimbulwana Oya Dam |
Kimbulwana Wewa, also known as Neeramulle Wewa (Sinhala: කිඹුල්වානා වැව, නීරමුල්ලේ වැව), is a reservoir near Lenawa village in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka.
History
Local Chronicles such as Mahavamsa, Pujavaliya and Rajavaliya records that King Mahasena (276-301 A.D.) of Anuradhapura built the Kumbalaka tank, also called Kimbulwana (Nicholas, 1963). This tank is believed to be the same as the Kumbhilasobbhaka tank restored by both King Vijayabahu I (1055-1110 A.D.) and King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 A.D.) of Polonnaruwa (Nicholas, 1963). The present tank on the Kimbulwana Oya near Lenawa is thought to be the same tank that is mentioned in chronicles (Nicholas, 1963).
It is said that the present tank was created by restoration of an ancient tank impounding the waters of Kimbulwana Oya, a tributary of Deduru Oya River (Arumugam, 1969).
The Reservoir
Kimbulwana Wewa is one of the tanks in the Deduru Oya River Basin. The reservoir bund is about 2,600 m long and has a storage capacity of 3,400 acre feet (Arumugam, 1969). The water extends over about 475 acres at its full supply level (Arumugam, 1969). The reservoir has 1 sluice and 2 spills (Arumugam, 1969). The water is used for irrigation purposes 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.370.
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.102.
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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.