He said by last night six sluice gates were opened up to a foot, while two sluice gates were opened up to two feet.

The Irrigation Director further said that the current water capacity of the Parakrama Samudraya is around 117,000 acre feet while the water that is released is around 1400 cubic feet and this water is being released into the Mahaweli river.

Therefore, people living on the banks of the Mahaweli river and those using the river are advice to be cautious as the water levels could rise.

The water being released from the Parakrama Samudraya with its sluice gates being opened is shown below.

(Pics : W.A. Piyatillake - Hingurakgoda correspondent)