An enchanting waterway

By Ranil Wijayapala

Sri Lanka as a country rich in natural water ways and also man-made canal and tanks has a proven history of using them for commercial purposes and also for transportation. There is historical evidence to support the fact that King Vira Parakramabahu VIII, of the Kotte era during the 15 th century, used the canal on the West coast leading to Negombo harbour, a famous harbour during that era, to transport precious spices, gems and other valuable commercial items to be transported in vessels to eastern nations with which Sri Lanka had trade links in the past. Those water ways were further improved and many more new canals were constructed by the colonial rulers as the country went under the colonial rule of Portugese, Dutch and British from 1505 to 1948.

Atop the Hamilton bridge-a sight to behold

Boat riding, a popular pastime

The dredged canal

Hamilton canal walkway

Room to relax and enjoy the surroundings

The glory of those canal systems faced a natural death, during the post independence era, as the canal system was not maintained. Now the authorities have taken note of this fact and used after the improvement of road network and other transportation modes unless the canal systems were identified as a factor to improve environment, drainage system and also a mode of transport and recreational purposes by the relevant authorities recently.

As the potential behind these canal systems for the protection of environmental, social development, transportation and also for the promotion of tourism many canals and waterways are now being improved in a rapid pace and they are becoming places of public attractions across the country for recreational purposes.

Hamilton canal which was originally constructed by the Dutch and later improved and strengthened by the British to link Colombo harbour with the Negombo lagoon, after a long period of neglect is now being systematically turned into a major tourist attraction in the country as it has been transformed into eco-friendly and people-friendly as it has been developed under the initiative of Economic Development Ministry as a part of the programme to improve tourism in the Negombo area.

The Hamilton canal from the estuary of the Kelnai river at Hekitta in the North of Colombo to Negombo lagoon has been completed in early British era in 1802 and was in neglected state in the recent past as it has become more of a dumping ground of garbage and a cess pit of many of the households and factories along the canal.

The Economic Development Ministry understanding the importance of developing this canal as a major tourism promotion zone handed over the project to the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation.

According to the Economic Development Ministry under the first stage of the project a distance of eight kilometres from the Negombo Lagoon to Dandugum Oya river delta was developed with the bank protection of the canal. Work on the second stage, a 14 km-distance from Negombo Lagoon to the mouth of the Kelani River at Hekiththa - commenced on February 20.

A major development work were done on two and half kilo meters from Hekiththa junction to Pinwatta was developed as a major tourist attraction and has been vested with the people in August this year making the canal a major attraction for both foreign and local tourists..

"The current project is aimed at not only tourism promotion but also protecting the canal banks, fauna and flora, marine life and biodiversity in the area. Improving the livelihood of residents and providing them with the infrastructure they need are part of the project", a spokesman for Economic Development Ministry said.

"The canal and its vicinity is of much environmental importance since the area is home to different species of fish, birds and plants and rich in bio-diversity, making it ideal for eco-tourism. In view of this, embankments will be built to protect the canal banks and either side of the waterway will be beautified.

In addition, the canal will be de-silted and steps will be taken to prevent future pollution so that tourists will have the opportunity of travelling by boat from Negombo to places like Muthurajawela, Kelani Vihara and Dandugam Oya along Hamilton Canal with no difficulty.", the spokesman added.

"After meeting the requirements of tourists visiting the area, facilities for fishermen such as marketing stalls and jetties for boats will be constructed", he said. Provincial Road Development Authority of the Western Province which undertook the subcontract of the project from SLLRDC in February 2013 to develop the stretch from Hekitta junction to Pinwatta at a cost of Rs.400 million with the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation assistance.

R.M.N. Thennakoonwela, Chief Engineer, Provincial Road Development Authority which undertook the project from Hekiththa junction to Pinwatta explaining the difficulties they faced when improving the canal said that it was not like carpeting roads.

"The workers had to work in the canal which was like a cesspit. It was a difficult job. We developed two- and- a- half kilometres of the canal under such difficulty", he said.

"The major challenge we had to face initially was that the canal was used as a dump site by the people. Even the drainage lines and storm water connections and cesspits of houses and also some factories have been connected to this canal. Therefore to improve the water quality, we had to work within the existing legal framework and informed all the household and the factories to take steps to divert all the pipe lines connected to the canal to an alternative place within 14 weeks.

Then only we could stop the waste water connections, toilet connections to the canal", Thennekoonwela said.

A committee comprising representatives from the Central Environment Authority, Divisional Secretariat, Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha worked together to make this project a success. Then the Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha took steps to stop dumping garbage into the canal by introducing a solid waste management system in the area.

"Then we protected the canal bank with gabian walls but it was not a permanent solution as when boat operate in the canal the banks erode and the gabian walls collapse.

Therefore we constructed reinforced concrete as capping for the gabian wall so that the waves of the canal strike only the concrete cap", engineer Thennekoonwela said. "But on the other side of the canal towards the sea we had a small road along the canal. Therefore, we did the gabian walling and then concreted the the road to make it strong", he said.

"At Hekiththa junction people crossed the canal in a small ferry. As a solution a suspension bridge across the canal was constructed to facilitate crossing of the canal and five other bridges have been repaired and reconstructed along the canal", he said.

The boatman who earlier transported people across the canal have been given a jobs as watchers to take care of the bridge.

"Then to make this an attractive place for the tourists we did a jogging path along the canal. Then we planted trees and constructed benches for the people to relax. We installed solar power systems to light the the streets", Thennekoonwela said.

"We also did a leisure park at Hekiththa junction for th people have spend their leisure time while improving the environment along the canal by planting trees and improving the fish stalls and bus stops. At Elakanda junction we improve the fish market by having new stalls for the people selling fish", he added.

About 30 contractors had to work like bees day and night since February 20 to open the first stretch of the project on August 2, he said.

Provincial Transport and Road Development Minister, Nimal Lansa on the instructions of Economic Development Minister took the initiative to develop this stretch of canal to promote tourism in Negombo.

"There should be a return for the investment for this project and the Ministry of Economic Development and the Provincial Tourism Ministry aim at promoting tourism in Negombo by making use of the canal for tourists.

The project is contributing towards improving tourism as it is a major attraction for local and foreign tourists", Thennekoonwela said.

Apart from using the canal for boat rides it will promote marketing of goods by using boats. A few boats have been launched to sell essential items.