Not because of its nature but because of its use by ancient kings to protect Kandy city.
I have a book on Rivers and Water Falls of Ceylon at Amazon, one is advisee to read it.
When I was writing this book I did some Research Work and I realized that it's current route is not natural but man made.
There are only two bridges over Mahaveli in Kandy and both were built by the British to protect Kandy from sabotage.
In my belief Heen Ganga is the only natural stream that flows according to geographical countours with gradual descent, to the Mahaveli River.
I have forgotten the details now.
Coming back to Floods we had a major flood in Kandy when I was a little kid in 1952 or 1954.
I was not attending school but I could remember for one solid month we were home bound and no schooling for my siblings.
It was a very gloomy.
Years later I saw the stone erected in Kandy, Mulgampola to mark the highest water level. I believe this landmark is no more.
Probably removed by the municipality vandals.
The present Gatambe Vihara was supposed to have not gone under water.
It came to famous and prominace, after that fact.
I can remember only one other time that it rained over two weeks during Esala Perahera. I hid in the Paththini Devale for over two hours on that day. It was my only shelter. I had to walk home to Ampitiya with no buses. I did not go for Esala Perahera for a very long time after this incident.
Elephants are my favorites but now I say they should not be paraded for display and they belongef to the jungle.
What I remember as a young guy was that every time I went to Colombo by bus even with minor rain Peradeniya and Gatambe go under water for a few hours. The bus stops at Peradeniya and stay until.water subsides.
Unlike nowadays, rains were heavy.
No problem if I come by train.
The train track is at a higher level.
This went on until grand Mahaveli Project was completed and the Maskelliya damn came into existence.
Only when there is spill over from Maskelliya Dam we tend to have minor floods in Peradeniya.
The Rugger Grounds at Peradeniya goes under water (not cricket ground, hockey ground and track and field, they were.at a higher level). No more rugger played now, mainly due to clashes of students of the two rival schools.
There is a stream that flows by the side of these grounds and I used to stroll through this pristine stream looking for Giant Danios.
Rugger ground is the wettest and the muddiest.
My research work lead me to reading large books on geography.
My particular interest was the stretch of road that leads from Peradeniya to Panidemiya. It goes under water ever so often, even with minor rains.
There is a little stream that comes under Kandy Colombo road and then flows to Mahaveli River by the side of the Railway Bridge in Peradeniya.
On the other side of the river is the Peradeniya University. I used walk (short cut) to the University on the rotten iron plates on one side of the bridge.
I stopped this habit when I detected that big iron planks were missing and nobody bothered to repair them.
Big risk of falling to the river if I missed one of my steps.
I can remember I was made to run over these plates by the seniors as a part of the ragging. I did a sprint and the senior guys took at least 20 minutes to cross it.
I realized these guys were not my heros.
One of the saner senior guys said are you mad to run like this. That was the end of the ragging.
Coming back again to floods, one of the books said that the next flood beats the one before by a big margin.
It only happens once only in 100 years.
Now going by 1954 it is 70 years now and current rain in Ceylon epitomizes the said geographical fact.
What I want to highlight is the mapping of the flood planes.
After every major flood it should be mapped to define the extent of the FLOOD PLANE and its devastation.
No construction should be allowed and should be designated as reserved area and for natural habitat.
People who built quarters within the Flood Plane should be persecuted and should not be paid any compilations at all, for their residences. These are done under the pretext of tourist attraction. I say tourist should not be allowed to access the protected areas.
MCC program of the World Bank and I.M. F. have mapped these areas with callous disregard to Environmental Impact.
Our ancestors had harnessed over 100 rivers, without destroying the environment and we should make it a point to respect them protect our country from mal-designed foreign investment.
Mahaveli River Map
It is known for its scarcity of proper mapping.
Original Mahaveli River starts from Badulla and drain to the Trincomalay plane.
The original water content is not sufficient for agriculture.
It was supplemented by Kotmalay Oya and Pundalu Oya.
I traced them from the Ceylon Surveyors Map and documented in my book.
Unfortunately, except where its basin is exploited for commercial activities it not properly mapped for details. This is what I have found.
- Nanu Oya.
- Puna Oya.
- Pundalu Oya.
- Kotmale Oya.
- Hatton Oya.
- Atabage Oya.
- Nilamba Oya.
- Nanu Oya (Peradeniya)
Veterinarians tranquilized elephants that behaved abnormally during Kandy perahera (1965- 1975 )
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