Kachchimaduwa Reservoir spilling over

By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe  

Kachchimaduwa Reservoir at Kottukachchiya had been spilling over because of the heavy rain in the Puttalam district. 

It is the main reservoir in the Kottukachchiya farmer colony set up in the early 1950s under the colonization scheme. The reservoir is about 1,000 acres in extent. Irrigation Engineers said the excess water was being released to the Kiral Oya.   

Meanwhile, the residents of the opened up a gap in the Kottukachchiya Nayankalmba tank bund to release excess water when the tank overflowed causing a breach at several places endangering the low-lying areas with a sudden influx of water.   

They pointed out that the tank was overflowing despite the release of water through the sluice gates. The tank which is about 50 acres in extent had been restored recently to provide irrigation facilities to more than 150 acres of paddy cultivation.

 Farmers said the water flowing from three other tanks caused the overflow of the Nayakalmba tank.   

Nayakalmba Farmer Organisation President D.M. Nimal Rupasinghe said the tank began to overflow on Monday evening causing breaches in the tank bund and that they created a gap near the sluice gates to speed up the release of water on the instructions of the Irrigation Department officials.