Friday, February 5, 2010

Comparative Study of River Mekong in Asia and Kalu Ganga (Kalu River) in Sri Lanka

Name of Student: Amila Hettige

Class 5J Royal Primary School, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka Project

Title: Comparative Study of River Mekong in Asia and Kalu Ganga (Kalu River) in Sri Lanka

River Mekong
I saw the Mekong River while visiting the Kingdom of Cambodia. I went to the place where the Mekong meets 3 other rivers in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. One of these Rivers starts from the great lake Tonlesap in Cambodia and I learned from our guide that during 6 months of the year water flows from the lake to the Mekong and during the other 6 months water from the Mekong flows into the great lake in the middle of Cambodia. Mekong River starts in Qinghai in China and flows through 6 countries before flowing into the South China sea (i.e. China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam). Mekong is 2600 miles long and it is the 12th longest river in the world. It is being used as a path to connect these countries. I was sad to see the water being polluted at certain places by humans.

Kalu Ganga (Kalu River)
I went to on a study tour with my family to learn more about the Kalu Ganga during December holidays in 2009. Kalu Ganga starts from the Samanala Mountain range in the central hills of Sri Lanka and flows through Sabaragamuwa and Western Provinces before flowing into the Indian Ocean in Kalutara south of Colombo. It is 80 miles long and there is a beautiful delta in Kalutara at the city where it falls into the Indian Ocean. I went on a boat ride around the delta and noticed that there are 6 bridges over the Kalu Ganga via the delta. On another day I visited the city of Ratnapura and saw the Kalu Ganga near the famous Saman Devalaya (shrine of God Saman) in Ratnapura. The river is narrower in Ratnapura area but becomes wider when it reaches Kalutara. There also I sadly noticed people polluting the water. Thank you Amila Hettige