Posted by Onlanka Information on September 5, 2026 – 11:57 am
Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says the Decrease Malwathu Oya Multipurpose Improvement Undertaking will assist strengthen rural economies whereas permitting communities to contribute extra on to the nationwide financial system.
The President made the remarks throughout a dialogue held on the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on September 3, 2026, to overview the progress of the undertaking and resolve points which have delayed its future work.
The Decrease Malwathu Oya undertaking is one other main reservoir undertaking deliberate to be added to the Rajarata irrigation system.
President Dissanayake had additionally inspected the undertaking website on August 29, 2026. Points recognized throughout that go to had been additional mentioned on the September 3 assembly, and several other sensible options had been reached to deal with them.
The undertaking was launched 10 years in the past however later stalled on account of an absence of funding. The Authorities allotted Rs. 5,000 million within the 2026 Price range to renew its building.
The undertaking is anticipated to deal with water shortages, that are a serious impediment to rural improvement and agricultural manufacturing within the decrease Malwathu Oya valley, whereas additionally creating a brand new improvement space in Thanthirimale.
It’s also anticipated to extend cultivation depth throughout the Yala and Maha seasons on 40,000 acres of paddy land underneath the Big’s Tank and Akathimurippu Tank within the Mannar District.
Different anticipated advantages embody offering ingesting water, producing hydropower, controlling floods, growing a tourism zone, selling the fisheries business and serving to to handle human-elephant battle.
The Authorities goals to completely full the Decrease Malwathu Oya Reservoir Undertaking and hand it over to the general public by 2029-2030.
As soon as accomplished, it’s anticipated to grow to be the biggest reservoir within the North Central Province.
Particular consideration was additionally given to land acquisition and resettlement actions related with the undertaking.
The President instructed officers to hold out the resettlement course of along with the event of the required infrastructure in order that displaced communities might be supplied with a greater way of life than that they had earlier than.
Plans to introduce trendy agricultural initiatives for the resettled communities had been additionally mentioned.
The dialogue additionally centered on creating secure markets for his or her agricultural merchandise by way of buying agreements with private-sector grocery store chains and export firms.
A proposal by the Chief Incumbent of the historic Thanthirimale Rajamaha Viharaya and Deputy Chief Sangha Nayaka of the Northern and Japanese Provinces, Most Venerable Thanthirimale Chandarathana Thera, was additionally mentioned.
The proposal contains collectively developing and sustaining an elephant fence by way of the Division of Wildlife Conservation, the Civil Safety Division and the Sri Lanka Military.
It additionally proposes establishing pure boundaries comparable to palmyrah fences as an efficient long-term organic resolution to human-elephant battle.
The restoration of small- and medium-scale tanks was additionally mentioned, together with the resumption of the Kuda Wilachchiya Tank Undertaking, the place building had been suspended because of the current financial disaster.
Most Venerable Thanthirimale Chandarathana Thera stated the Decrease Malwathu Oya Reservoir Undertaking is a serious hope of the individuals of Rajarata.
He expressed appreciation for the dedication proven by the Authorities underneath the management of the President in direction of the undertaking.
The Thera additionally expressed satisfaction that a number of selections had been reached throughout the dialogue in a way that might strengthen public confidence within the undertaking.
Minister of Commerce, Commerce, Meals Safety and Cooperative Improvement Wasantha Samarasinghe, Senior Further Secretary to the President Kapila Janaka Bandara, Secretary to the Ministry of Setting Okay.R. Uduwawala, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation D.P. Wickramasinghe, and Anuradhapura District Secretary Ranjith Wimalasuriya had been additionally current.
Divisional Secretaries, heads and representatives of related establishments together with the Irrigation Division and the Division of Wildlife Conservation, senior safety officers, Chief Undertaking Director Anura Nelugolla and different undertaking officers additionally participated within the dialogue.
