Ridi Bendi Ela is a major

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

scheme in

North Western Province, Sri Lanka North Western Province ( ''Wayamba Paḷāta'', ''Vada Mael Mākāṇam'') is a province of Sri Lanka. It is the fourth-largest province by land area, covering , and the fourth-most populated province with a population of over 2,592,000 people. ...

. It is located within the Nikaweretiya Divisional Secretary division in the Kurunagala district, a major part of which is in the Deduru Oya river basin. The main

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

of the irrigation scheme is the Magalle Wewa which is located in Nikawaratiya. The reservoir has a total capacity of and a depth at the spilling level of . The total length of the

tank bund Bunding, also called a bund wall, is a constructed retaining wall around storage "where potentially polluting substances are handled, processed or stored, for the purposes of containing any unintended escape of material from that area until ...

is . The 23 km long Ridi Bendi Ela feeder canal provides nearly 80% of annual water inflow.

History

The original irrigation reservoir and feeder canal from Daduru Oya were constructed by

King Mahasena Mahasena, also known in some records as Mahasen, was a king of Sri Lanka who ruled the country from 277 to 304 CE. He started the construction of large tanks or reservoirs in Sri Lanka, and built sixteen such tanks. After becoming king, Mahasena ...

. The most remarkable era in the history of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n irrigation is King Parakkramabahu’s

Reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...

(1153-1186 A.D.)

Project area

The project area is divided into 11 farmer organisations: *Katagamuwa *Magallegama * Ibbawala *Mada Ela *Balagollagama *Budumuththawa *Kabellawa *Heelogama *Diullawa *Danduwa *Tharanagolla

References

{{reflist Geography of North Western Province, Sri Lanka Irrigation in Sri Lanka