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Pavatkulam Tank |
Pavatkulam Tank, also known as Pavatkulama Wewa (Sinhala: පාවත්කුලම වැව) is a reservoir located in Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka. Belonging to the Vavuniya Irrigation Division, this tank is considered the largest irrigation scheme in the district.
History
This tank is believed to be an ancient work that probably belongs to the pre-Christian era (Arumugam, 1969). It is said to have been breached and overgrown for several centuries until a small portion of the reservoir was restored as an independent tank called Ullukulama (Arumugam, 1969). However, due to the high intensity of rainfall in 1957, this tank was breached along with the Iratperiyakulam and several small tanks in the upper catchment of it. The comprehensive work was restored and revived in 1958 (Arumugam, 1969).
Some historical details about Pavatkulam is found in Lewis's article published in the Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society [(V.13, no.45) Lewis, 1894].
Another tank of Siņhalese construction, which probably dates from pre-Christian times, is Pavatkuļam, which was the most important reservoir in the Wanni: -
The bricks employed at two of the sluices are of a much older type than those of the Padawiya sluice, which was built at the end of the third century A.D. Unfortunately there are no inscriptions in the immediate neighbourhood, nor is there any local tradition regarding the originator of the work ; this is doubtless due to the occupancy of the place by the Tamils after they seized upon the district. If Siņhalese had always lived at it, the ancient Siņhalese name of the tank might have been preserved. This reservoir is such an important one that it is almost certain to be mentioned in the old historical works, if we only knew what name it bore.
The only vestiges of the former inhabitants of the place, besides the tank itself, are the ruins of a small dágaba which once existed on a high rock, included in the line of the bund, a large slab for flower offerings which is now placed on an adjoining rock, and a large stone with a roughly carved figure of a five-headed cobra on it.
- Lewis, 1894. p.155.
The Reservoir
Pavatkulam Wewa is one of the reservoirs located in the sub basin of Malwatu Oya River Basin. Built by impounding the waters of Kal Aru and Kallukundamadu rivers, its bund was about 2 miles in length (Arumugam, 1969). It had a storage capacity of 27,000 acre feet by the late 1960s and the water extended over about 3000 acres at its full supply level (Arumugam, 1969). The catchment of the tank is about 115 square miles (Arumugam, 1969). The present tank has one spill and two sluices.
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References
Books, Journal Articles
1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.326.
2) Lewis, J.P., 1894. Archaeology of the Wanni. The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 13(45), pp.151-178.
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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.