First of al I am a medical guy in retirement with special interdt in mother nature.
I did some reading and research and associated with the Engineers who directly contributed to it.
To begin with this is an outline and I am going by my meory. I had a one drawer full of documents and the big Map of the Seveyor Generol. I am now in Australia and before leaving Ceylon, I handed over the Surveyor General' Publication to one of my kindergarten time friends, whose obsession is to go and visit each and every rrmotr village in this country. Unlike me he has been to most of the places devasted by this tragedy.
1. We are known for flash fllods.
One cardinal theory flood management is for every 100 years there is a flood that overtake the previous worst by many a times (I foget the parentage but many a times. Let us say 20%).
The corollary is that the flood plane has to be identified and no construction should be allowed, blocking the drainage plane for excsess volume of water.
2. All the governments including the present goverment ignore this important fact.
Fully under prepared.
3. If the volume is considered to be in excess of the flood the plane area that is targeted that excess volume should be drained well before any unitended catastrophe.
This can be calculated with simple mathematical formula.
4. Water is a huge Potential Energy and can cause unfathomed damage.
5. We have 101 rivers in CEYLON covering the entire length and breath.
6. We are known for draughts.
7. When I last investigated say in 1995, 10% percent of those rivers had run dry.
The have water only during the monsoons.
8. Because of frequent draughts we tend to ignore the potential of floods.
10. Now let me come to the Mahaveli Project.
11. I was totally against the Kotmale.
I used to monitor the rain on yearly basis an keep a simple record, simply beacuse the approach road to our house goes under water.
I come home before the rain and I wait at a higher ground to pick up my daughter who is dropped off from the school van.
Three Wheeler drivers refuse to ply on this road that goes under due to release of water from Kothmale dame.
I remove my shoes and tie them with lace and put it on my shoulder and my daugher does the same thing with white canvas shoes.
12. One day my daughter got almost washed away had I not been there to pull her up. After this incident she cannot leave Panideniya until the water drains off. In 29 minutes the water drains to Mahaveli. Not a big ask.
That is why I hate Kothmale Projects.
13. Accelerated Mahaveli Project was a disaster.
According to my engineering friends there were many short cuts to the project proper. Proper environmental (flood plane is one aspect) assements were not done.
14. I sold my rackety car since our house did not have a garage.
Besides, the access road to our house was built on a stream that had gone dry for many decades. Access road gets flooded with every rain and I cannot park the car on the main road that gets flooded, too.
15. I am glad we left CEYLON.
Had I been there I would have been on this road doing make shift repairs to the drain which get filled with soil. I may have got washed away in the process.
The main road got flooded during the devastation and I am pretty sure the road may have got slipped away.
I tried to do an ariel survey using Google but could not. I left my telephone book and I feel this in not the time to give a call.
16. The last major flood was in 1954 and I was not attending primary school then. But I can rember my sibling at home for over twe weeks not going to schools.We were house bound and did know the meaning of floods and I hated rain.
Then again we had a minor floods in between and I got stuck in Natha Devale having brought my mother to see Kandy Dalada Perehara.
That day it rained non stop.
That is the last time I went to see Perahara and I told my mother she has come alone.
My obsession was to take photos of Elephants stationed in front of Natha Devale.
17. I did not have any premonition of this current floods and it was not due until 2054 according to my statistics.
We on the 70s of that 100 year period.
18. That is why I say this is rhe CURSE brought on by this NPP/JVP Regime who are worse than Niganntayan of India but Niragamikayo who dedpise Buddhist way of life.
I am convinced it is the case.
19. Irony, was that Buddha was born in Teldeniya where it is under water due Victoria Project.
Victoria Project was a deliberate attemot by the British Monarch to burry and erase the evidence of Buddha was born there.
Gaminie Dissanayake paid the prize for Mahaveli Project.
Chandrika did know of the LTTE attemt to kill Gamnie Dissanayake and my Guess Work is she may have done it before LTTE.
Of course she lost one of her eyes and she was known proxy of LTTE.
20. I am Glad Jayaratne Pathiraarchchi is on overdrive and bearing these facts right and left.
Thank YOU for putting out history in correct perspective.
