Giant's Tank ( ta, கட்டுக்கரை குளம், translit=Kaṭṭukkarai Kuḷam; si, යෝධ වැව ''Yōdha Væva'') is an

irrigation tank In Sri Lanka and India an irrigation tank or tank is an artificial reservoir of any size. They are part of a historic tradition of harvesting and preserving rainwater in the region. Often an embankment such as a mud bank was constructed across a sl ...

in northern

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, approximately south east of

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district **Mannar Bridge, a bridge connect ...

History

Some historians have speculated that Giant's Tank is the same as the Mahanama Matha Vapi tank built by King Dhatusena in the fifth century and restored by King Parakramabahu I in the twelfth century. On the other hand, Mudaliyar C. Rajanayagam in his book ''Ancient Jaffna'' suggests that the tank was probably constructed by the Nagas. Rajanayagam has suggested that the ''Megisba'' lake mentioned by Pliny in ''Description of Taprobane'' was in fact Giant's Tank. Consideration was given to renovating the tank during Dutch Governor

Willem Jacob van de Graaf Willem Jacob van de Graaf (28 May 1736 or 1737, in Huissen – 10 December 1804, in Utrecht) was the 35th Dutch Governor of Ceylon during the Dutch period in Ceylon. Willem Jacob was the third child of Sebastiaan van de Graaf, Major of Cavalry ...

's administration in the eighteenth century but nothing happened. Restoration did however begin in the 1880s following a motion in the Legislative Council by

P. Ramanathan Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, King's Counsel, KC ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் இராமநாதன், translit=Poṉṉampalam Irāmanātaṉ; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 19 ...

. Delays by epidemics and other issues meant that restoration wasn't completed until November 1902. A thick, high, long stone dam (known as ''tekkam'' in Tamil) was built across the

Aruvi Aru The Malwathu Oya ( si, මල්වතු ඔය Malwathu Oya, ta, அருவி ஆறு Aruvi Aru), at long, is the second longest river in Sri Lanka. The river originates in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka and enters the sea on ...

from its

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

. The waters were then diverted to Giant's Tank by a inlet channel (''alawakkai''). The tank had a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of . The name ''Giant's Tank'' was the English translation of the local name for the tank - ''Sodayan Kattu Karai'' (giant built embankment). The tank is now known as ''Kattukarai Kulam'' in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

. Responsibility for the tank passed from the Public Works Department to the Department of Irrigation in 1900. By the late 1960s the tank's bund was long and high whilst the tank's storage capacity was and its water spread area was . There was a channel flow

spill A spill occurs when the contents of something, usually in liquid form, are emptied out onto a surface, person or clothes, often unintentionally. Spill may also refer to: * Oil spill *Chemical spill *Data spill *Leadership spill *Spill (audio), wh ...

on the right bank and seven

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

s. Water from the tank was transferred to numerous minor irrigation tanks via a main channel and of branch channels. The tank's storage capacity was in 2003 and it was capable of irrigating . The tank's height was but it was capable of holding safely. The tank's storage capacity was in 2009 and it was capable of irrigating .

References

{{Northern Province, Sri Lanka topics Irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka Bodies of water of Mannar District Lakes of Sri Lanka