 Sithawaka Rajasinghe) succeeded in 1587 to drain the crocodile infested lake by cutting off several canals but failed to defeat the Portuguese as they brought reinforcements from India through sea.After the Dutch laid siege and captured the lake it was expanded by reducing the fort by 1/3 of the previous and created several islands such as the Slave Island some of them were large enough to have a village and a plantation of 600 coconut trees.After the British took control they removed the crocodiles and developed the area surrounding the lake for recreational activities such as rowing and yachting.