31 canals renovated for flood control, irrigation; project to finish by October

Colombo, June 4 (Daily Mirror) - Deputy Minister of Urban Development Eranga Gunasekara said that 31 canals have been renovated and maintained under a joint government programme aimed at flood control and improving irrigation, with the project scheduled to be completed before October this year.

He made these remarks during a field inspection on June 3 to assess the progress of maintenance work on several tanks and drainage canals in the Kolonnawa constituency in the Colombo District and the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha area in the Gampaha District.

During the inspection, officials reviewed restoration work at the Vedamulla Lake and its connected canal in the Kelaniya local authority area. The Deputy Minister also observed rehabilitation work on the canal network linked to the Mattakkuliya and Kaka Island tanks and the Kelani River in Colombo, as well as canal cleaning activities around the Meethotamulla garbage dump.

Gunasekara further inspected maintenance work on the Baron Thilakananda Mawatha Canal within the Kotikawatta-Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha area.

The maintenance of canal and tank systems is being carried out by the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, with the support of local authorities.

The Deputy Minister said the ministry allocates more than Rs. 1 billion annually for canal maintenance. He claimed that previous governments had lacked a formal plan for the sector and faced significant shortages in machinery, equipment and human resources.

He said the present government was addressing these shortcomings through a sustainable reform programme and would implement the necessary plans for the long-term development of the sector.

Gunasekara added that the work is being carried out under the "Clean Sri Lanka" national programme through a coordinated mechanism involving the Urban Development Authority, Colombo Municipal Council, Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation and local government bodies. He said both short-term measures and long-term solutions were being implemented to address flood management and waterway maintenance issues.

Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Dr. Sadun Yapa Karunaratne, members Kamalasiri Bandara and Sujeevani Ruwanpura, Kolonnawa Municipal Council Vice President Saman Seneviratne and Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation Deputy General Manager Engineer S.P. Muthumala were among those present at the inspection.