The Mahaweli Development Project of Sri Lanka; a failure?

            By 1968, Sri Lankan hydro power engineers had established the tradition of hydro power development, through the projects at Laksapahana (50MW), Nawalakasapahana (100MW), Wimalasurendra (50MW) , samanala (75MW), Canyon I (30MW) and Canyon II (30MW) , which gave a total of 335MW, from the upper attachment area of the Kelani Ganga, Situated in wet zone up country. The catchment of the Mahaweli Ganga in the up country wet zone is several times larger than the Kelani catchment on which the above hydro projects are based.             In the early 1950s , the Irrigation department started the collection of data for the use of the Mahaweli Ganga water resources by doing the preliminary surveys and the essential investigations. Of the six water flow (current) metering stations on the Mahweli Ganga set up by the irrigation department,   two were located at Agarap...

            The Mahaweli Project Reports (MPR) were submitted to the government of Sri Lanka (then ' Ceylon') in 1968/69 by the FAO.             The geological site investigations of the Moragahakanda Multipurpose unit, as stated in the MPR, reports that the results of 'exploratory drilling' to a depth of 100 feet had indicated that two fault zones, highly weathered and highly fractured gneiss, altogether to a depth of hundred feet, sediments to depths so much as thirty four feet, notable for their high water permeability and also possessing a high water absorption capacity of fifty gallons per minute. The recommendations of the geologists were that these fractures required careful washing and grouting.             It therefore appears that the prevailing geological conditions at Moragahakanda were not the best for ...

After effects of the Mahaweli Development   scheme (MDS)   " Hyper Eutrophy"             The MDS commenced in 1969 and after 48 years of its existence, whatever merits the government claims from the MDS, the government is frantically fighting a single handed battle, especially in the North central province (NCP) against Chromic Kidney Disease (CKD) , with all sorts of Internationally assisted 'remedies' and payments of Rs. 5000/- per patient monthly, to about 20,000 patients the majority of whom are now incapacitated for life and uncertain of a prolonged existence.             During   the times of the ancient Sinhala Kings,   Mahaweli Water was supplied   to the dry zone by diverting the waters of the Amban ganga by four anicut across it and its tributaries and of the Mahaweli by two anicuts across it. As the entire upper catchment of the Maha...