President opens Moragahakanda Mega Irrigation Project 

President Maithripala Sirisena declared open the Moragahakanda Development Project yesterday.

The Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga Irrigation Development Project can be considered a modern day irrigational wonder of Sri Lanka which ends the worries of farmers in Rajarata by providing solutions to their agricultural and drinking water issues.  

With the completion of the Moragahakanda reservoir, the Five Mega Reservoirs under the Mahaweli program concluded after four decades since Mahaweli water was first diverted to Rajarata from Polgolla on 8 January 1976. Water from the Moragahakanda reservoir will primarily be used to support agricultural needs in an area of more than 300,000 acres, benefiting 1.5 million families while also supplying clean drinking water to 300,000 families.   

The Moragahakanda Dam is a high gravity dam built to a height of 65 metres. The dam has created the Moragahakanda Reservoir, which has an active storage capacity of 521,000,000 m3, and is four times bigger than the massive Parakrama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa.

Constriction work on the Moragahakanda project - which has been a dream of the President for a long time in order to address the woes of Rajarata farmers - was delayed as a result of it not receiving proper State sponsorship. 

Sirisena, after being elected President on 8 January 2015, accelerated this development project owing to his personal commitment and enthusiasm.

The project was officially handed over to the Sri Lanka Government by the Sinohydro China Construction Company and the Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka Pang Chunxue handed over the relevant document to the President. 

Work on the 25-megawatt Moragahakanda Hydroelectric Power Station also commenced parallel to this event.

Under the Moragahakanda - Kalu Ganga development project, water will be supplied to 2,000 tanks in the North Central, North Western and Eastern provinces. Accordingly, 303 tanks in the North Western Province and 1,600 tanks in the North Central Province will be supplied with water. Another 48 new tanks will be constructed in new colonies of Laggala new town and Medirigiriya. In the present resettlement process - being conducted for the 3,500 families of the Naula and Laggala Divisional Secretariats displaced due to the project - is being accomplished and compensation is being provided for the loss of property. The expected average annual inland fish production potential of the reservoir is estimated to be around 3,000 tonnes, representing a net benefit of Rs. 225 million annually. 

The annual rainfall in the area of the Moragahakanda reservoir is 818 million m3 and as a result of blocking that water flowing to the sea, flooding in the Manampitiya and Somawathiya areas will be minimised. 

The benefits reaped by the entire nation due to the implementation of the Moragahakanda -Kalu Ganga development project is immense and the project will provide direct economic benefits to thousands of farmer families living in three provinces.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, ministers and parliamentarians, public servants, local and foreign dignitaries and many others were present at the occasion. – Pix by Sudath Silva and Shantha Rathnayake