Reminiscing memories of putting the Kandy Lake in order-by L.B Senarathne

The Kandy Lake was created with the tears and sweat of the Kandyan Peasants and it amounted to forced labour. Nearly 2000-3000 workers were employed for this task, according to John D’Oyly’s book (page 123). Men and women worked at the site. King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe ordered nearly 60 members of the Maha Sangha who protested against this to be bound and burnt. But Adikaram Meegastenne intervened and they were freed.
The artificer Devendra Mulachari, the creator of the lake, committed suicide in the very lake he created for the King.
The original idea to build the lake came to the King while walking with Devendra on Maha Maluwa. The idea was to build a lake near the Bogambara Wewa; and in front of the Palace (Maligawa). Devendra Mulachari said that it could be done by making a dam near Tiggowela, which was the property of Malwattu Maha Vihare. The King ordered that it should be done and forced labour was employed. The protests came from the Maha Sagha, but the King cared less and had them arrested.

The maintenance of the Lake was not an easy task and they handed it over to the main Local Authority, the Kandy Municipal Council. This institute handed the conservation of the Lake.
The Kandy Municipal Council showed a step motherly attitude towards this task and reasons are unknown. There were soon dead fish on the lake and there was also a stench. Complaints poured in. however the new authorities took no notice of these happenings.

The the Ministry of Irrigation was handed over to General Anuruddha Ratwatte (then he was not a General).At a meeting held at the Mahaweli Office on Sangharaja Mawatha, Ratwatte in his own style blamed the Municipality for not maintaining the Lake and attending to the stench and rotting algae. He fiercely said that he would fill the Northern end of the Lake. True to his words within two weeks, he took over the Lake and handed it over to the Irrigation Department.
The Directress of the Central Province overseeing the operations of the Irrigation Department took immediate action to clear the algae and make the Lake pleasanter for people who walked around the Lake.
Minister Ratwatte left the Ministry and Anura Kumara Dissanayake (the present President) took over the Ministry. The Directress maintained that there were no funds to maintain the lake. By this time the bund of the Lake showed signs of cracks.
Minister Dissanayake, knowing the situation, maintained that there was a need to maintain the lake for the benefit of visitors to the area. Money was allocated for the task and he Kandy allocated and himself cut the first sod of soil for the rehabilitation work.
The department from there onwards was allocated funds and today the Lake in this present condition thanks to the work of the Irrigation Department. This work commenced with the allocation made by the then minster Dissanayake, who is now the Executive President.

Even Dr. Sarath Amunugama was at one time the Minister of Irrigation and was also the AGA of Kandy. The initial allocation made by Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake went a long way in maintaining the Lake. This is how attention was given to the once neglected Lake.
These stills reproduced here with the article are facilitated thanks to the stint this writer put at the SLRC as the Central province Correspondent. These stills show the traditional rites being performed before the refurbishment work of the Lake began in the presence of a gathering comprising distinguished invitees. The first sod of soil was cut by the then Minister of Irrigation Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the presence of several other invitees.