Spot-billed Pelicans in the Dry Zone Sri Lanka

A severe drought which continued for almost three years in the North Central Province has come to an end with the monsoon rains this year - 2018. A land that flourishes a unique hydraulic civilization and a network of water storing tanks or ponds called “Wewa” in native Sinhala are full to capacity. The paddies below the tanks are tilled and sown giving a lush hue of fading green. A pleasing site at dawn, with the night’s mist clearing in the morning streaks.  

Typical layout of a cascading tank irrigation system

Our night stay in Rambawewa within the watershed of a medium sized tank was full of water and the extended spread of water leading into a growth of shrub and vegetation thriving on the once rich silty tank bed.

Up early morning with binoculars, camera and the bird activity in the water spread skirting right up to the benches placed on the periphery of the property to sit and enjoy the aquatic environment was very pleasing. From the behind came the high pitched honking of a peacock on a “Mango tree” Mangifera indica …. it’s night peach waiting for the sun to come up.

Purple Heron

Large Egret

Five Spot-billed Pelicans are feeding among the reeds and short shrubs in the shallow stagnant water. It is amazing to note that all five pelicans are feeding individually and their success rate is very high. Generally the pelican hunts as a team cornering the fish and attacking them in unison. It was different over here in the very shallow water. The shape in the shrilled shadow through its pouch membrane against the sunlight shows them to be fairly large catfish.

These man-made water-bodies are used to store rainwater for a six month season of cultivation and the water is released to a pre-planned schedule. The tank water level decreases with the water issue and the last waters are held close to the bund which is the deepest location in this water systems. Likewise the aquatic life too gets into a cycle where the nutritious vegetation in the outer spread gets attracted by the carps, tilapia and the catfish that feed on them. Gradually with the water being drained for irrigation the fish get a limited feeding area and finally gets confined in the puddles and pools and become prey to many water birds, otters and small wild cats.

Intermediate Egrets in flight.

However catfish being air breathers they bury themselves in the mud pools keeping their skin moist and survive the interim period until the next rains are in filling the tank for another season with a fresh aquatic cycle. In the case of the tilapia; its eggs survive and are even transferred from one water body to another by travelling over land stuck in the feet of most water birds. This being the secret for fish to occur in any new water-body.

Getting back to our pelicans …… it is these catfish that had buried themselves in the mud and are now active in the outer reaches of the tank feeding on the grasses in the shallow waters that turn out as prey to the pelicans. The water being shallow and the catfish being a slow mover is easy prey to the pelican not needing teamwork?

It’s fascinating to see the sequence of the pelican spotting the fish and attacking which was almost always successful. No sooner it spots the fish the head is pushed right back with the pouch and the bill tightly sunk in the stooping frontal part of its body until the stabbing attack with a high-speed leap takes place securing the prey in its pouch with the head swung in an upward movement.

Birdwatching is much more fun and engrossing when you study their behavior and understand the reason for such behavior.  

When that Bottle goes Empty?

It is generally taken for granted that a bottle is a narrow necked container turned out of glass …. But this is not to be so? There are bottles made of clay, plastic, metal etc. However out of all material it is glass that has been associated very much in bottle making ever since its invention. Glass is preferred for its inert properties against most corrosive liquids when in storage. 

What is glass? This again is interesting. It is not an element nor is it a mineral but a non-crystalline amorphous solid that is often transparent. Glass is made from liquid sand…when sand is heated to a temperature over 1700⁰ C it turns to liquid. When the molten sand cools, it doesn't turn back into that gritty yellow stuff called sand but undergoes a complete transformation and gains an entirely different inner structure. So then it could be said that glass itself is a super cooled liquid?

The place and date of the origins of glass manufacturing is not completely known. It is believed to be the Phoenician merchants who discovered glass for the first time in the region of present day Syria. The first glass bottles are thought to have been produced in South East Asia around 100 B.C.,. And the earliest glass bottles appeared in China, and later in places like Phoenicia or Bahrain, Crete, and Rome.

The World in Glasses

Ever since the Joseph Priestley discover the method to infuse carbon dioxide with water in around 1760, the carbonated mineral water industry caught up in a big way.  In the same way glass bottles that were needed to store and transport these drinks turned out became a promising industry.

Tom Standage’s book “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” discusses of six different drinks that are still found in our kitchens. Beer which is over 6000 years old produced by the Sumerian’s is still a popular drink. Wine produced from wild grapes by Paleolithic humans is old as beer or even older. Spirits or hard liquor particularly Brandy and Rum that pacified sailors during long sea voyages, played a crucial part in trade and dominated the Atlantic economy.  Coffee, first brewed in the Arabian Peninsula around A.D. 1000 was the alternative to alcohol, which is banned by Islam. Tea, was a daily drink in 3^rd century A.D China and a tea break for the British factory worker was more like fuel… on long and monotonous work shifts during the Industrial Revolution. Coca Cola the symbolic drink of the United States invented in 1886 by  pharmacist John Stith Pemberton ; initially said to have sold only nine bottles a day is now sold in a number of countries the world over. The number is above the UN’s member countries it is said.  Of all these six drinks that changed the world, other than for Coffee and Tea were stored in their customary glass bottles.

All of these six drinks did impact the world economy in a very effective manner. Beer, Spirits and Cola drinks depended on the glass bottle industry that turned out signature shapes for various brand names. Market prices competed with very fine markups and the cost of the drinks needed to be affordable. This was affectively managed with the reuse of the bottles that were washed clean and refilled and the pricing was only for its contents. This practice of refilling and reusing bottles continued until recent when finer financial planning showed disposable packaging costed much less compared to the cost incurred in washing plants. Ever since this change in containers in this consumerism world; our environment became a totally different place with so much plastic in and around our homes and now a major environmental hazard that has extended from land to the deep seas as well.

Consumer markets doubled in business with disposable packaging and the hassle free purchase over the counter not needing empties in return. On the one side sales doubled and this increase in sales did relate to over consumption of sugar. A new health hazard today.

Competition in the carbonated drinks that changed to plastic containers did not catchup with the Beer and the Spirits and is still preferred in their bottles. But again the need of a bottle for a purchase is no longer a requirement. Therefore every time you bought a bottle of spirit or beer now an empty bottle is collected in your home or in the outside environment.

Bottle Myths and When the Gods went Crazy

Empty bottles did play special roles in our social and cultural lives. Genies were supernatural spirits in the cultures of the Middle East and Africa. They a very much associated with bottles and lamps to which they are bound by magical powers and often related to three wishes in exchange for their release to freedom. The stories about these Genie bottles floating and bobbing in the seven seas are many. Then again there was the crazy rich who did not have heirs to their wealth stuffing their last wills in capped bottles tossed  into the oceans from luxury cruisers. There are stories of beachcombers who had been fortunate in locating them. 

An empty Coca Cola bottle thrown out of a private plane over the Kalahari Desert falls in to a most unusual location. Jamie Uys, the African film writer and nature lover wrote a lovely comedy which he directed himself to a box office hit by the name “The Gods Must Be Crazy”. The story of trash in delicate habitat that affect our cultures, society and life is very delicately highlighted in a lighter vein in this movie. This empty Coca Cola bottle picked up by a Kalahari Bushman takes it for a gift from God. It’s a tool in the household, a means of communication when blown in to, a toy to the kids and with many other uses finally turns out to be a disaster…. when he finds himself in an urban setup with that empty Coke bottle.

Just as that Coke bottle in the Kalahari the empty bottles today are a major environmental issue in our own homes and society with no place or value for its proper disposal. I’m sure every home has a stock of a few dozen empty bottles that came home with jams, sauces, pickles, cordials and spirits. Gone are the days that the “Goni Bothal“ and the “Parana Paththara” man visited us on a Sunday to collect them for a paltry sum  where he found a living being a collector to a large recycle network that prevailed twenty years back in this country. Today it is the plastics and the scrap metal that is sort after abd carry a value. The empty bottle has no value and is not welcome by any even for free.

I have tried to sneak them among the sorted plastics and polythene garbage into the municipal truck that come once a week…. but failed miserably. They always find the bottle and leave it behind.  My next plan was to transport them in a polysack in the boot of the car to the scrap metal yard away from town at dusk. Just as I was about to dump the polysack I see a sign saying the premises is under CCTV surveillance that forced me to carry them back home. 

With no luck at all…. I next went to the local float glass merchant in town to know how he disposes his off cuts. He reluctantly told me that he tips the municipal truck and they take it away god knows where to. I had no alternative but to ask how much my polysack of empty bottles is worth? The Municipal waste truck costed it for Rupees five hundred to which I agreed.  But I insisted to know how it is disposed. They would still take it to the polythene dump where people scavenge for a living. But they have instructions from the authorities not to collect glass for dumping.  I know it is not the proper way for its disposal ………. But again there should be an authorized way for its disposal shouldn't there?

Uva Province of Sri Lanka, still portrays the impact of Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana style Buddha / Buduruwagala

The Buddha, or the "enlightened one," was born Siddhartha Gautama to  Princess Mahamaya and King Sudhodhana in the 6th century B.C. in Lumbini, modern-day Nepal. Although born a prince, he realized that conditioned experiences could not provide lasting happiness or protection from suffering. After almost thirty years of spiritual search he went into deep meditation, where he understood the nature of the mind. He achieved the state of unconditional happiness; the state of enlightenment, or Bodhi by the river Neranjana in Gaya. For the rest of his life, the Buddha taught anyone who asked how they could reach this state. Ever since his parinirwana or demise at the age of 80 the Dharma, his teachings has been preserved and preached to the people of Asia major by the Sangha; his disciples or the community practitioners who was entrusted with its broadcast. 

However with time his teachings were divided into two branches the Threravada and Mahayana. Regardless of the branches all Buddhist believe in the Buddha as the teacher, the Dharma as his teachings and the Sanga the community of practitioners of the Dharma. This means that all Buddhist regardless of the branches believe in the Thripitaka, the Pali canon the Buddha’s teachings as originally recorded hundreds of years after his passing.

Both Theravada and Mahayana believe in Arharts; the enlightened persons who have escaped the cycle of birth and death and exist in Nirvana, the ultimate goal in Theravada.  Mahayana believes in the “Bodhisatva Path”.  This means that all monastics and laypersons can follow this same path and become Bodhisatva’s, which are enlightened beings that freely choose to stay in the cycle of birth and death also known as Samsara.  They stay in Samsara out of great compassion to save all beings despite having to continuously exist in the world of Samsara. Theravada also believes in the compassion to save all beings, however they do not promote the Bodhisattva path to achieve it. Theravada, does not have any additional schools like in Mahayana. In Theravada there is only one set of views on all these topics while Mahayana provides additional “Dharma gates” that people can use towards liberation.  However Theravada believes these additional Mahayana sutras and teachings are not canonical. Therefore not legitimate.

Buddhism reached Sri Lanka in the 3^st century BC and was established as Theravada based in the Mahavihara in Anuradhapura. It is noted that some monks separated from the Mahavihara and established the Abhayagiriya with the royal patronage of King Valagamba in the 1^st century BC. There has been evidence to the presence of Mahayana influence even in the 3^rd century BC with the arrival of Vaithulyavada from India.

The significance of Mahayana in the Buddhist sculptures in this land is related to the 8^th and 9^th century during the reign of the Kassapa and Dappula brothers in Anuradhapura. But its presence is mostly related to the Rohana Desha. In today’s terms in the Ruhuna and the Uva Province. The Chola invasion in the 10^th century and the formation of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom is said to have had a lineage to Mahayana which later was overridden with the Shiva devotion.

Buduruwagala Buddha flanked by the Awalokatheswara and Goddesses 

The Mahayana influence in the country is but clearly depicted in the Buduruwagala site before the Polonnaruwa Era which don’t seem to have continued in the Polonnaruwa Kingdom.

Buduruwagala situated in Wellavaya in the Monaragala District, consists of seven statues sculptured on a rock cut relief during the 9th -10th century  A.D. It is believed that these statues were created by Mahayana Buddhist in Rohana, during the Anuradhapura period. Iconographies of various Buddha, Bodhisattva, and the strength of Bodhisattva, regional gods, and gods of Hinduism has been introduced by the Mahayana traditions. The main Buddha sculpture in Buduruawagala is said to be the tallest of its kind in Sri Lanka and is flanked by six smaller sculptures three to a side that relate to Mahayana notations. It could be said that on behalf of worshiping the Buddha, people also used to worship and believed in Bodhisatva and gods introduced by the Mahayana tradition in Buduruwagala.

Buduruwagala / Wellawaya

The other significant sculpture though isolated and further away from the province of Uva is the Kushtaraja Gala in Weligama. This image of Avalokiteshvara also sculptured in a relief of the rock is thought to be of the 6-7 century A D and depicts very clearly the Mahayana concept that prevailed during this era. There are other folk stories on the image as that of a prince from a foreign country ailing from a skin disease had come on a pilgrimage to Agrabodhi Vihara and had constructed this image on a vow made to God Vishnu. The other is that a prince from Sri Lanka with a skin ailment had built the statue after getting cured by making a vow to Agrabodhi Vihara. As there is evidence to identify that this statue is of Natha Bodhisatva, the folk stories could be accepted to some extent for the reason that there was a belief that this Bodhisatva had healing powers.

Pic Courtesy:www tlc lk                                                                        Kushtarajagala Weligama

Awalokatheshwara Natha / Weligama
Pic courtesy; www.lanka-excursions-holidays

The colossal free standing Buddha image at Maligawila and the freestanding image of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisatva in Dambegoda in Okkampitiya also in the Monaragala District in the Uva Province is said to have been completed in the same period. They are also classic example of the influence of Mahayana worshiping of the people of Rohana then.

Maligawila Buddha colossal

Dambegoda Awalokitheswara statue

Mahayana Buddha / Dowa Bandarawela

Unfinished Dowa sculpture

Finally the unfinished Buddha, sculpted on a rock relief in Dowa Bandarawela again in Uva province could be noted as the culmination of this practice of Mahayana worship that took root in the Rohana then. The Chola invasion which brought about suffering and anarchy in the country, but upheld the Mahayana tradition and the worship of Shiva may have had a negative impact on the practice of Mahayana. We do not see its development as seen in the 8^th and 9^th century in the country since the Chola invasion and the formation of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom.

Downpours, Floods, Saltwater and Folly Canals........ [මෝඩ ඇල]

The topography of Sri Lanka is unique of its central massif that radiate perineal waterways to the flat low lying lands beyond. The landmass from the North-West to the South–East via the North of the country is named as the dry zone. The precipitation from the North-East monsoon is inadequate for agricultural needs in this area and is supplemented with irrigation water. On the contrary the South-Western landmass that receives a bountiful precipitation from the South-West monsoon is very much smaller resulting in intermittent flooding and is named the wet zone of the country. Therefore much of this landmass along  the coast are low lying flood retention marches and is utilized for low yielding paddies which needs to be drained to be productive.

History records that the human population which was mostly confined to the dry zone within the North Central areas, have now shifted to the much wetter South-West of the country since the 10th century and the colonial period. These areas today are of a very higher population density.

The Dutch who controlled the maritime regions before the British, made use of these wetlands by constructing a network of canals linking the larger water bodies in the South Western coast from Matara, Galle and Kalutara all the way to Colombo. They used these canals to transport the export commodities from the interior of the land to their ships in the port of Colombo. These connecting canals also acted as conveyance of excess water in one area to flow over to other areas, thereby mitigating the flooding that took place in these wetland.

Once the British took control of these areas and their subsequent rule over the whole island they opened up land routes for communication and conveyance and the Dutch built canal system went in to disuse. With no maintenance the canals were overgrown and the flooding of the lands now became a hazard to public life. Even the low yielding paddy cultivation in these areas was almost abandoned. 

The flooding in the City of Colombo however did concern the British who had a city development plan. They incorporated a flood mitigation system for Colombo which linked the Beira Lake in the City with the Weras Ganga in the outskirts of Colombo. The North of the city was made flood safe with a series of earthen bunds on the left bank of the Kelai River. 

However it was only after the formation of the Irrigation Department in the year 1900 in the aftermath of the Great Ceylon Flood of 1897 did flood studied commence on a scientific background. The whole of the South-Western region was also taken up for planning and mitigation.

The heavy precipitation experienced in 1947 resulted the back waters of Kalu Ganga flowing over to the Bolgoda South Lake resulting in the town of Panadura being flooded for several weeks. The matter was brought up in the Legislative Council by the influential Hon Susantha de Fonseka the member for Panadura and the first flood protection scheme in the region commenced to protect the town of Pandura. This was by providing a lock gate structure on the ‘Kepu ela’ [meaning a manmade canal] that connected the Kalu Ganga with the Bolgoda South Lake.

Kepu Ela’s [කැපූ ඇල] or Dug Canals

The geography of the West and the South–West of the county that is referred to as the wet zone consists of five major rivers. The Kelani, Kalu, Bentara, Gin and Nilwala. All commencing in the central massif and are affected by the precipitation of the South–West monsoon. Kelani and Kalu have larger catchments to that of Gin and Nilwala.  Bentara is a river with a smaller catchment commencing at a much lower elevation than the others. The Kelani River which in close proximity to Colombo has been confined by flood bunds built during the British to protect the city. The Kalu Ganga spreads its flood waters in a northerly direction into two interconnected large water bodies named Bolgoda South Lake and the Bolgoda North Lake. The north lake is linked with the Weras Ganga in the Greater Colombo area. The south lake has its sea outfall in Panadura which was  blocked by a sand bar as the head of water was insufficient to generate a regular flow out.  These closed up sea outfalls opened naturally only with the increase in water levels during flooding. This rise in the water head caused great hardship to the people in the area. The most economical solution then was to provide additional sea outfalls to these water bodies for quicker drainage during flooding. These were  man-made canals connecting low tracts by cutting through some high ground all the way to the sea.

Post Flood Drainage Canals

Flood control engineering interpret these man-made canals as ‘Post Flood Drainage Canals’. The canal flowing under the Thalpitiya Bridge on the Galle road in the southern boundary of Panadura, known as the Thalpitiya Canal is one such Post Flood Drainage Canals. It is no longer functioning and is blocked permanently by a heavy sand bar at the sea outfall . Today with the advancement of Engineering Sciences, Groin Structures built up with large chunks of granite placed according to wave study research done on scale models, keep the sea outfalls open continuously and the rising water flows out preventing flooding. Today the Pandura town is protected from the back waters of Kaluganga by closing the lock gates on the Old Dutch Kepuela linking the Kaluganga to Bolgoda Lake and a Groin functioning at the Pandura sea outfall. The lake now has a defined high flood level and the water mass is used for recreation and other economic benefits accordingly. 

From Kalu Ganga to Gin Ganga

The story of the area between the rivers Kalu Ganga and the Gin Ganga are but different. The low lying area between them including the Bentara Ganga catchment is a very large landmass measuring over 67 kilometers [42 miles] along the coast. The Dutch Canals in this area is nonexistent today. The flooding of the two bounding rivers have been arrested separately today. The lower reaches of the Gin Ganga has flood bunds built in the 1970’s with Chinese technology and assistance. Therefore much of the precipitation received during the monsoon collect up in three large natural water bodies and a few smaller water-bodies across this stretch. Again these three large water-bodies have solitary sea outfalls in each which naturally close up during the inter-monsoon period for the lack of sufficient headwaters to keep them open to the sea. 

Bethara Ganga has its flood retention area named the Dedduwa Lake, part of which is the Lunu Ganga. Lunu Ganga is famed today with its relation to the late Architect Geoffrey Bawa who turned the Lunu Ganaga and its surroundings as his private living by maintaining the natural landscape. Dedduwa Lake also had its excess water drained out through two post flood drainage canals during the 1970’s. Two diesel driven flood pumps pumped out water to the sea at Athruwella and Kaikawela from these post flood drainage canals. These pumps are no more as the paddy cultivation in these areas were terminated with the high cost of inputs. The cost incurred on pumping water by mechanical means became futile. The pumps were dismantled in the mid 1980’s. 

   

Madu Ganga is the largest natural fresh water lake in the country spreading around the towns of Kosgoda and Balapitiya. This waterbody is an expanse of 915 hectares with 36 habitable islets. Though it is called a Ganaga [River] it is very much a stagnant water-mass with over fifteen canals draining into it but with only a single sea outfall at Balapitiya. This outlet also consist of a Groin made out of granite boulders which maintain a permanent high flood level providing relief to the people living around its waterline.

Further south is the Randoma Lake which is linked by a man made canal to the Madampe Lake that drains out to the sea at Ambalangoda. Again a Groin structure controls the sand bar forming providing a permanent flow out for the drainage water.

An extent of approximately 15 kilometers of water logged lowland located between Ambalangoda to Hikkaduwa is slightly below sea level. This area has its only sea outfall at Akurala which has not been functioning due to the damage caused to this landmass by coral mining for the lime industry that thrived in the area in the 1960 /1970 era. No human settlement is significant in this area due to the deep excavations that are now filled with saline water. 

The Thelwatte Lagoon in this area was noted as a Bird Sanctuary in ancient maps but not anymore. It is all ruined due to coral mining. The Asian Tsunami of 2004 devastated this stretch of land due to its elevation being below sea level. Weragoda Canal which is manmade, drains in two directions to the Madampe Lake and the Hikkaduwa Lake taking up the excess precipitation falling in this area to be drained to the sea. 

The Hikkaduwa Lake in Hikkaduwa had been a burden to the people with the flooding which was arrested initially with a post flood drainage canal constructed at Duwegoda. This canal became abandoned with the large groin structure that was constructed incorporating a Fishery Harbour in the 1960/1970’s.

The flooding of the Ratgama Lake is now controlled with the Gin Ganga having its own flood bunds preventing the spillover finding the way to the Ratgama Lake. The Ratgama Lake has its outlet at Dodanduwa which has a sand bar which needs manual breeching during heavy rains.

Closer to Galle the Canal reaching the sea at Mahamodara is also termed Kepu-ela which again is a post flood drainage canal meant to drain out the Wackwella mash which was once a flood retention area of the Ginganaga.

Galle city itself is built up on a drained out marsh by the Dutch and the city is surrounded with very many canals all named Kepu Ela. The levels in these canals have been so designed by the Dutch; when the high tide flows into the canal from under the famous Butterfly Bridge of Galle, the city drains get flushed out to the sea twice a day.

Folly Canals[මෝඩ ඇල] and Saltwater Intrusion.  

The flooding that was triggered off with the monsoon rains in these area were eventually controlled with dedicated projects designed for the rivers and the low head waterbodies being provided with Groin structures at the sea out falls. The Irrigation Department pioneered these projects under its Project for Drainage and Reclamation which concluded by the end of 1970’s. 

However a new scenario was now taking place. The high tide in the sea spread into the water bodies through the open Groins and saline sea water turned the once fresh water to brackish water. This affected the aquatic culture and the habitat. It was to be beneficial commercially while being detrimental on the environment. The salinity in the paddy lands increased and needed government assistance to rid the salinity and protect the lands from salt water intrusion.

The Irrigation Department now extended its Flood Protection Schemes to Salt Water Extrusion Schemes. The Madampe Lake and the Hikkaduwa Lake that had the most of the adjoin land under paddy cultivation was taken up under this scheme. Gated structurers were built across water ways which were closed during the high tide and raised earthen bunds constructed on the periphery of the paddies preventing salt water intrusion. 

  

None of these projects are functioning now as the cost of production is not compatible with the low yielding varieties of paddy. Tourism around these water bodies is a thriving economy today.

Madu Ganaga today is a leading tourist attraction

These abandoned network of canals, bunds other structures done for the pump houses etc. are today concealed in the undergrowth. The new generation who knew nothing of the flooding then are ignorant of the services these canals and structures provided in the bygone era.  

It is obvious for anybody to inquire as to what purpose these canals running across the villages are meant to be, with no flowing water in them but an environmental and health hazard.  People today call them as Moda Ela’s මෝඩ ඇල or Folly Canals.

Folly Canals have a very ancient history. The first of its kind was the Wellawatte Canal in Colombo bordering Dehiwala. This is also a post flood drainage canal done in 1872. As the canal did not function proper due to a mess up on its bed levels it was dubbed the ‘Layard’s Folly’ after the then Government Agent who initiated the project.

Likewise all these post flood drainage canals in these regions are dubbed as Moda Ela’s මෝඩ ඇල as they do not perform any service either during a flood or otherwise today

However there had been attempts to re-grade some of these post flood drainage canals in the recent past. A pilot project re-graded the Duwegoda canal in Hikkaduwa in 1981 by the Galle Construction Division of the Irrigation Department. This was again a post flood drainage canal taking flood water from the Hikkaduwa Lake to the sea across the Hikkaduwa town between hotels. The re-grading cost was enormous with no direct benefit to the people or any favorable land-use.  

So not all of these canals were Follies then, as called today. They did serve to ease off the flooding about a 100 years ago while technology and innovative designs have made these canals to be obsolete today  reasoning them to be called Follies. 

But in Galle there is but a curious canal done during the Dutch functioning to this day named the මෝඩ ඇල….. this is but by the name of the Dutch Engineer who designed it.

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