The Department of Irrigation has launched a Rs. 324.43 million emergency reconstruction project along the Badulu Oya irrigation network, repairing structural damage inflicted by high-volume floodwaters during Cyclone Ditwah. The Badulu Oya system provides critical irrigation water to over 12,000 acres of paddy fields and commercial vegetable farms across Badulla, Kandaketiya, and Meegahakiula divisional secretariat areas. Severe flood surges in early 2026 caused multiple canal bank collapses, washed away secondary sluice gates, and heavily silted main distribution channels. Reconstruction teams are constructing heavy concrete retaining walls along vulnerable river bends, clearing thousands of tons of accumulated mud and boulders, and installing automated gate control mechanisms at major diversion weirs. The project is scheduled for completion ahead of the upcoming Maha cultivation season, ensuring smallholder farmers receive reliable water deliveries for seasonal planting. Irrigation engineers emphasized that reinforced canal embankments will also protect adjacent rural villages from catastrophic flash flooding during intense monsoonal downpours.