Sixty tanks will be refurbished under five cascade schemes in Anuradhapura. In the Mahawilachchiya DS Division and the Nochchiyagama Ds Division, the Army Engineer Regiment will renovate 18 tanks in Nabadagasdigiliya.
The projects were launched by President Maithripala Sirisena in November 2018. The two cascade schemes were assigned around Rs. 150 million. Anuradhapura Government Agent R.M. Wanninayake said that after the two tank clusters have been renovated, around 8,000 acres of deserted paddy field will be grown.
The government agency said there are about 14,200 rural tanks with 1,262 cascade installations in the nation. Alone, he said, Anuradhapura has about 350 cascade systems. The project is coordinated and overseen by the Secretariat of the President. 325 tanks in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, and Puttalam will be renovated by the Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management Project or the New Gam Pubuduwa. The World Green Climate Fund will provide an absolute grant of Rs. 6,090 million and the govt will provide Rs. 2,340 million for the projects.
