President instructs officials to accelerate Moragahakanda combined development projects

President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed all relevant officials to accelerate multiple irrigation projects connected to the Moragahakanda-Kaluganga mega development plan, as the people living by farming in those dry zones should receive benefits of the project with no delay. 

Under the guidance of President Maithripala Sirisena, this mega Moragahakanda-Kaluganga development project saw its culmination, channelling much-needed water for drinking and cultivation to the people living in the Northern and North Central Provinces. The development project is destined to wipe out the tears of those agricultural communities who had pleaded many decades for water. Under this mammoth project, Wayamba Canal and North Central Giant Canal or Upper Elahera Canal development projects as sub-schemes are currently underway. 

Moragahakanda-Kaluganga Development Project was embarked on in the year 2007 with the objective of providing clean drinking and irrigation water to the North, North Central and Eastern Provinces, to ensure paddy cultivation unhindered in both Yala and Maha seasons.   As of today, this mega project has been extended to include the North Central Canal project as well in order to feed Wea Medilla Tank reservoir, and subsequently channel the water storage to 303 more small and large-scale tanks. 

Accordingly, a 94 km canal is being built from Moragahakanda to Nachchaduwa Tank under the North Central Giant Canal or Upper Elahera sub project.  The project hopes to ensure the uninterrupted water supply to 1600 more reservoirs, including main tanks such as Nuwara Weva, Nachchaduwa Weva, Tisa Weva and Hurulu Weva, located in the Anuradhapura district. In addition, three more giant tanks, namely Parakrama Samudraya, Kawudulla Weva, and Kanthale Weva, are also bound to feed with water channelled through the old river Amban Ganga which carries the bulk of the flow to Moragahakanda, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee. As of now, under President Maithripala Sirisena’s instruction, steps have been already taken to release stocks of water from the Moragahakanda Tank project to the Minneriya project for irrigation.  Accordingly, the irrigation development project office says that the stocks of water have been already released, expecting cultivation in the Yala Season by farming communities in the areas of Elahera, Minneriya, Kaudulla, and Kanthale. Feeding the Kalu Ganga reservoir with water is also now nearing its completion, while 16 more tanks are also being saturated for cultivation by 3000 more affected farming families, who earlier had lived in 24 villages but abandoned their localities as the development project moved on.  Meanwhile, a special ceremony to award commendation certificates to those who have contributed to make this mega national development project a success is scheduled to be held with the participation of President Maithripala Sirisena at Moragahakanda-Kaluganga Project premises today (8 July) in the morning hours.