Three tanks to absorb flood waters

Three new tanks have been built at a cost of Rs 480 million to drain flood waters which caused havoc in the Colombo city, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament yesterday.

The three tanks, Diyawannaa tank in Battaramulla, Rampalawatta tank in Pelawatta and Thalawatugoda tank in Thalawatugoda had been built at a cost of Rs 480 million.

The Diyawanna tank cost around Rs 290 million, Ramapalawatta tank cost Rs 170 million while the Thalawatugoda tank cost around Rs 20 million, the minister said. The construction of these tanks had been done under the supervision and guidelines of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, the minister said, adding that the Diyawanna tank could hold 192,400 cubic metres of water, while the Rampalawatta tank could contain 166,000 cubic metres of water.

The Thalawatugoda tank could hold 47,600 cubic metres of water. The minister was responding to a question raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake. SM, IR and DM