Responsible authorities since the Dutch and English colonial rulers have failed to pay sufficient attention to the problems of floods and the development potential of the Kelani River valley, said Senior Irrigation Engineer Anton Nanayakkara last week delivering a special lecture at the 50th Philip Gunawardena Commemoration meeting at the Sri Lanka Foundation.

Nanayakkara said: “The Kelani River valley is second only to the Mahaweli river valley. It has enormous potential to contribute to the development of this country. However, no proper attention has ever been paid by to this subject since the days of the Dutch and British rulers. It is sad to observe this untapped potential while countries elsewhere have seized opportunities to get the best of their rivers on either bank.”

He pointed out that a team of Russian experts had in 1961 pointed out that excess water of the Kelani River could be naturally diverted to Kurunegala. Sri Lanka’s next mega development project should be the Kelani Valley Multipurpose Development Scheme.

Nanayakkara said that Philip Gunawardena was the first to come up with the idea of a Kelani Valley Multipurpose Development Scheme that could bring about a new national economic and social awakening in Sri Lanka. On Nov 16, 1937, Gunawardena, as Member for Avissawella, presented a special motion to the State Council proposing a multi-purpose development program for Kelani River flood management and the Kelani Valley.

It read: “That this council is of opinion that immediate concrete and effective steps should be taken to prevent further pauperization of the people through periodic floods which damage their crops and dwellings and turn cultivable land into a mosquito-breeding swamp, and to this end desires the appointment of a Commission, with recognized expert from abroad, having practical experience in flood control schemes, to inaugurate a comprehensive scheme of flood – control for the Kelani river, coordinated with the work of irrigation, water supply, drainage and hydro – electricity.”

Speaking further on his proposal, Gunawardena pointed out that no serious considerations have been given to control the floods in the Kelani River and that the Government is acting in a confused manner in this regard. “… this is a question that has baffled many engineers, many statesmen and a good many laymen. However, since about 1873, I must say, that no serious effort has been made by the Government to control the floods of the Kelani River.

“It is the matter known to everybody in this island that annually the floods in the Kelani valley destroy houses, crops, livestock and even take human lives, and it is estimated that annually the country loses, as a result of the flood, somewhere in the neighborhood of Rs. 200,000. That is a very big sum. But apart from the actual loss in property and life, the entire economic life in the Kelani valley is brought to a standstill for several days in the year.”

Nanayakkara said that this development project, which should be given high priority, is critically important to the Colombo, Gampaha, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and many other districts. It needed to be accorded priority in future development projects. Philip Gunawardena was the first to present such a proposal but that, despite its importance, did not happen.

“We have made so many policies but none of them has been implemented in a manner that could bring transformative change,” Nanayakkara said.

Among those present at the commemoration lecture were the Anunayake of Malwatte Chapter Ven Dimbulkumbure Wimaladhamma Nayaka thero, Chancellor of the Colombo University Ven Muruttettuwe Ananda thero, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa, Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, Water Supply Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Lands Minister SM Chandrasena, Indigenous Medicine Promotion State Minister Sisira Jayakody, MPs Jagath Pushpakumara, Jayantha Samaraweera, Premnath Dolawatte, Suren Raghavan, Yadamini Gunawardena, Prof Gamini Samaranayake and the ambassadors of China, France, Cuba and Vietnam.