Kandy floods: Who is to blame?

The painting reproduced from the book ‘MahaMaluwa’ shows how the Tusker is bringing the Sacred Tooth Relic through the Maha Wahalkada

Prof. Atula Senaratne the Geologist and Kandy Mayor Kesara Senanayake both voice that floods in Kandy have been blamed on the illegal constructions taking place around Kandy. But who is responsible for the illegal constructions is a question that has to be answered by the Municipality itself. Illegal constructions have been ‘growing at a rate’. But, today these activities have trebled. 

Floods in Kandy are nothing new, but man-made floods are very rare. Mayor Senanayake has not moved into the area of the “Kandy Storm Water” project.   Has this been a complete success? If this is a success then the roads on a normal rainy day would not be like the Mahaweli flowing on to the roads of Kandy! 
The Megapolis Ministry commenced the “Storm Water Project” at a cost of 1.01 billion rupees with the Kandy Municipal Council.

There is a conflict between the Kandy Municipality and the UDA. The  ‘Daily Mirror’ reported on February 1, 2005 a story under the headline “UDA riding rough shod, says Kandy Mayor”.
He was speaking from the chair at the first meeting of the council held at the town Hall.  Quoting an example, he said that an application had been made to demolish a building on D.S.Senanayake Veediya, but he refused  to sanction it.  
This controversy is still in force.  
A similar case was pointed out by the same Mayor when Keppetipola Kumarihamy Mawatha was widened by a few perches. 

Even at a meeting at Janadhipathi Mandiraya, where the former President presided, this question was posed, but the then Mayor was not  allowed to respond.
There is a situation where in certain instances the UDA is overriding the Local authority and this is not something new.  The Ratepayers blame the Local Authority and behind this is the UDA who is sometimes riding ‘slipshod’ as the mayor had pointed out.

There were three centres in this storm water project networking to send the water through Meda Ela to the Mahaweli. The flowing water from the Bogambara network seems to have failed and thereby flooding the Kandy Railway Station and its environs.
Speaking of floods, there was the 1947 floods in April 1900s. 

To mark these floods in Kandy there were two cement markings at the present spot of the Getambe Highway. They were unceremoniously removed by workers. 
Governor Lalith U. Gamage has appointed a Committee on December 27. The Committee met on December 28 at the Kandy Municipality Town Hall presided by the Deputy Mayor Al Haj Illhai Abdeen.

A former Member of the Council and the Secretary of the Organization  for the Protection of Public Property Anura Gonawela said “There must be a dynamic proposal and plan, if accusations are to be kept away,” said Gonawela.
 Kandy experienced the worst flood since 1828. Then Governor Edward Barnes was determined to test the miraculous powers of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

He called on the Diyawadana Nilame Dehigama Kuda Nilame and requested him to exhibit the Relic. But, he said that it is not within his powers and that he had to call on the Mahanayakes of Malwatta and Asgiri chapters to open the Relic Chamber. The Mahanayakes refused this request stating that it was not the time to exhibit the Sacred Tooth Relic

The Governor insisted that they should exhibit the Sacred Tooth Relic so that the people could also worship it.
The Mahanayakes and the Diyawadana Nilame with all the pomp and pageantry brought the Sacred Relic on a Tusker to the specially constructed ‘Mandapaya’. 

The first and second days went without incidents. On the third day rains fell. 
There were floods and the country was fully damaged and on the seventh day the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought back to the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Then that was the floods of 1825. So we have had floods by the Act of God , but not by illegal constructions or unmonitored “Storm Water Projects”.

There were no photographers and a bright young soldier jotted down the event on canvas.  The painting is reproduced from the book ‘MahaMaluwa’ and reproduced here. Here the Tusker is bring down the Sacred Tooth Relic through the Maha Wahalkada (Main Gate)
The original into the book ‘Eleven years in Ceylon by Forbes’.