Who needs a man-made lake?
Confusion and concern surround Kekunugahawatte at Talangama North with residents claiming that some paddy fields and an ela are to be made into a manmade lake while the SLLRDC stressed that only those canals of the existing Averihena wewa would be cleared and dredged.
Whether there is a need to widen the culvert on Amaragoda Road is also being looked into, an SLLRDC spokesperson said.
Why should an artificial lake be created, questioned a resident, pointing out that turning marshy habitat into a lake will not necessarily control flooding. It will only increase the water withholding capacity but not the water-absorbing capacity, which is an important factor in flood control. The destruction of the Wetland would be disastrous.
Another SLLRDC spokesperson explained that the Survey Department was demarcating the boundaries as the government was hoping to Gazette the Wetlands to preserve them, while the UDA was drawing up a zoning plan to identify residential and commercial areas. The development work of the Madiwela East canal diversion would only be with regard to the Averihena wewa and other “retention tanks” in the Colombo upper basin.
This area has been declared “environmentally sensitive” by the Central Environmental Authority, the Sunday Times understands, and diverse fauna inhabit the area including many winged beauties
In just one morning, environmentalist Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne had spotted 70 bird species and according to him, “Talangama is one of the finest urban wildlife sites in the world comparable to the London Wetland Centre which is rated as Europe's top urban wildlife site”.
A large lake would be relatively barren for wildlife compared to the biodiversity-rich natural Wetland which Talangama is at present, he says.
It is also home to many mammals including the endemic Purple-faced Leaf Monkey, the Fishing Cat and the endemic Yellowstriped Chevrotain (Mouse-deer), he says in an e-mail, adding that there are also over 30 species of dragonflies.