The photo above looks as if the water is flowing towards the camera, but in fact it is going in the other direction, and the force of the water from the sluice is pushing the water away and up into a kind of high wave.
I went on Saturday to the place where the water exits the Minneriya tank, hoping that when the gates are closed, the fish that have been washed down would surface for us to catch our dose of protein.
The date of 1957 on the gate is when this tank was restored to its former glory in order to feed the fertile plains, in much the same way it did during King Mahasena's time when the tank was first built.
We got there in the morning and there were already other people gathering for the same thing, to catch fish. We laid the nets across the water and waited for the gates to gradually close. 
3 comments:
I love this part of the country.
Ranjit,
Glad to see all that water gushing out. The last time we saw the Parakrama Samudra at Polonnaruwa, the water level was quite low. In fact, it's hardly a "samudra" now.
George
Yes George that was then, and the few days of rain in December really made a huge difference as even Parakrama was at spill level, to say nothing of Ratmale, where this year the village will be able to cultivate the next season also, as there is adequate rain fed storage. Last year they did not have water even for one season. Hence the importance of ensuring the tanks fill up when the rainy season is in force.
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