Feb 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management Nimal Siripala de Silva says that the construction of Deduru Oya irrigation reservoir is 90 percent complete now and water will be released for farming from November this year.

Water filling to the reservoir is to begin in August, the Minister said following a visit to the construction site.

The Deduru Oya Reservoir currently being built is located in Kurunegala District. It will serve the lands in dry and intermediate zones of Kurunegala and Puttalam Districts, where the irrigation water is scarce. The project will uplift the living condition of the people in the two districts.

Around 50,000 families will receive water for drinking and irrigation from the reservoir once the project is completed. Additional 15,000 families will benefit indirectly and 30,000 acres of land will be irrigated with the water of the Deduru Oya reservoir, the Minister says.

Deduru Oya Reservoir project at a cost of 6.2 billion rupees is the largest irrigation project in the North Western Province.