Major reservoirs in Rajarata continue to spill

Ten spill gates in the Rajangana reservoir was opened last morning to release excess water into the Kala Oya I

All major reservoirs in the Rajarata area continued to spill over due to the incessant rain experienced in the area and the emergency spill gates in them had been opened to release excess water and to prevent any possible danger to the reservoir bunds.

Irrigation Engineers said the two emergency spill gates in the Kalawewa, Rajangana, and Angamuwa reservoirs were opened last morning to release excess water. Engineer M.m.r.bandara said 12,250sq. ft per second was being released from Kalawewa to the Kala Oya river. They said ten spill gates in the Rajangana reservoir was opened last morning to release excess water at a speed of 9030 sq.ft per second into the Kala Oya. Irrigation Engineer Aruna Konagedara warned the people living in the low lying areas of Kal Oya to be cautious of a possible flood threat.

The Engineers said the water level in several other tanks and reservoirs were increasing fast.

Meanwhile, several main roads including the Polonnaruwa – Batticaloa road between Manammpitiya and Gallella was under water and impassable for light vehicles. Asst Director of the Polonnauruwa Disaster Management Centre Upul Nanayakkara said he would request the Railways Department to operate a special train service between Polonnaruwa and Manampitiya stations for the convenience of the public until the situation was back to normal.