Misplaced Pages

#332667

58-572: The Kilinochchi town was established in 1936 as part of a colonization project that sought to ease overpopulation and unemployment in Jaffna . Kilinochchi is still part of the Jaffna electoral division and it was separated from the Jaffna District in the 1980s as a new district. Most of the people living in this district are farmers and related to agricultural work. Most of the people migrated from Jaffna in

116-530: A Wesleyan Missionary started several schools in Jaffna city including Jaffna Central College and Vembadi Girls’ High School . Prior to the civil war, the city had one of the highest literacy rates within Sri Lanka. Jaffna has had a media sector from the mid-1800s. The first known Tamil and English weekly Uthayatharakai (Morning Star) was published jointly in 1840 by the American Ceylon Mission and

174-806: A clan-based settlement of the last phase of the Iron Age in the Jaffna region . Iron Age urn burials including other Tamil-Brahmi inscribed potsherds found in Kandarodai , Poonakari and Anaikoddai in the Jaffna region, reflects the burial practices of older times. Excavated ceramic sequences in Kandarodai , similar to Arikamedu , revealed South Indian black and red ware , potteries and fine grey ware from 2nd to 5th BCE. Excavations of black and red wares (1000 BCE – 100 CE), grey wares (500 BCE – 200 CE), Sasanian–Islamic wares (200 BCE – 800 CE), Yue green wares (800 – 900 CE), Dusun stone wares (700 –1100 CE) and Ming Porcelains (1300 – 1600CE) conducted at

232-4019: A 50,000+ population 500,000 and more Colombo 200,000–499,999 Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Moratuwa 50,000–249,999 Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Negombo Kandy Kalmunai Vavuniya Galle Trincomalee Batticaloa Jaffna Katunayake Dambulla Kolonnawa Anuradhapura Ratnapura v t e Geography of Sri Lanka Climate Climate Climatic regions Dry Zone Wet Zone Natural disasters Geology Indian plate Gems Central Highlands Hanthana Mountain Range Knuckles Mountain Range Extreme points Highest North South East West Landforms Beaches Islands Lagoons Lakes Mountains Rivers Valleys Waterfalls Bordering entities Adam's Bridge Bay of Bengal Gulf of Mannar India Indian Ocean Palk Bay Palk Strait Subdivisions Provinces Districts Divisional Secretariats Divisions Grama Niladhari Divisions Settlements Cities Towns Settlements in Central Province Eastern Province North Central Province Northern Province North Western Province Sabaragamuwa Southern Province Uva Western Province Environment Forestry environmental issues deforestation ecoregions Deccan thorn scrub forests dry-zone dry evergreen forests lowland rain forests montane rain forests Southwestern Sri Lanka rivers and streams protected areas national parks wildlife sanctuaries wildlife fauna flora v t e List of cities in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau [REDACTED] Category [REDACTED] Asia portal Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_cities_in_Sri_Lanka&oldid=1233344998 " Categories : Cities in Sri Lanka Lists of cities by country Lists of places in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka geography-related lists Lists of cities in Asia Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

290-443: A consequence the city's population is significantly lower than it was 30 years ago. Many of the city's residents who left during the civil war have settled down elsewhere and are unlikely to return. There have been reports, particularly after the end of the civil war in 2009, about resettling those residents who wish to return to Jaffna but there hasn't been any substantive effort to do so yet. Most Tamils are Hindus belonging

348-574: A contested city. It was made into a colonial port town during the Portuguese occupation of the Jaffna peninsula in 1619 who lost it to the Dutch , only to lose it to the British in 1796. During the civil war, the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) occupied Jaffna in 1986. The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) briefly occupied the city in 1987. The LTTE again occupied the city from 1989 until 1995, when

406-674: A dialect of Telugu or Tamil. Tamils were also divided along the caste system but as an urban area class was more important than caste which was more pronounced in rural areas of Jaffna district. Jaffna was founded as a trading town. Although a historic port used by the native Jaffna kingdom was already in existence when the Portuguese arrived, it was the European mercantile activity that made it prominent. In colonial times, production of clothes, items of gold and silver, processing of tobacco, rice and other related activities formed an important part of

464-932: A flourishing of literature, both in Tamil and Sanskrit. The Portuguese established Jaffna city in 1621 as their colonial administrative center. Prior to the military capitulation to the Portuguese Empire in 1619, the capital of the local Jaffna Kingdom , also known as the Kingdom of the Aryacakravarti was Nallur , which is close to the city limits of Jaffna. The capital city was known in royal inscriptions and chronicles as Cinkainakar and in other sources as Yalpaanam in Tamil and Yapaapatuna in Sinhalese . From 1590, Portuguese merchants and Catholic missionaries were active within

522-451: A number of popular newspapers in Tamil such as Eelakesari and Eelanadu . Jaffna was also the seen the publication of journals committed to the growth of modernistic and socially purposive literature such as Bharati and Marumalarchi in 1946. Now defunct English weekly Saturday Review was an influential news magazine that came out of Jaffna. During the civil war many publishers, authors and journalists were assassinated or arrested and

580-417: A small number of Shias prevalent amongst mercantile immigrants from North India or Pakistan . There is a small community of Tamil Buddhists who converted to Theravada Buddhism during the 20th century due to the efforts of Maha Bodhi Society . Most Sinhalese were either Buddhists or Catholics. There was a small community of nomadic wanderers known as Kuravar who visited Jaffna seasonally and spoke

638-521: A town about 13 km in the east, by early October, 2008 in fear of death by advancing government troops. Security Forces Headquarters – Kilinochchi was established on June 29, 2009, in the town. Most people living in Kilinochchi are Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils . Kilinochchi is one of the major agrarian cultivation destinations in the island from the pre-historic times. Iranamadu Tank, Kanakampikai Kulam (Pond), and Kilinochchi Kulam are

SECTION 10

#1732854543333

696-534: Is served by government and private sector coaches and buses. Commercial flights are available from Chennai, India and Colombo to Jaffna via the Jaffna International Airport . Since 2017 an express ferry service connects Jaffna with Delft islands. Jaffna city has number of education institutions founded by the missionary efforts and Saivite revivalism during the British colonial period. Peter Percival

754-518: Is surrounded by Jaffna Lagoon to its west and south, Kokkuvil and Thirunelveli to the north, and Nallur to the east. Jaffna peninsula is made of limestone as it was submerged under sea during the Miocene period . The limestone is grey, yellow and white porous type. The entire land mass is mostly flat with terrain sloping slightly upwards towards the coasts. Except for a few towns, the landmass lies slightly above sea level. Within 1.5 kilometres (1 mile) of

812-500: Is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka . It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name . With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city . Jaffna is approximately ten kilometres (six miles) from Kandarodai which served as an emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical antiquity . Jaffna's suburb Nallur served as

870-689: The Indo- Sri Lankan peace accord led an operation to take the city from the rebels . It led to incidents like the Jaffna University Helidrop and Jaffna hospital massacre in which patients and medical workers were killed by the Indian Army . More than 200 civilians were also killed during attempt to take the city over by the IPKF. After the departure of the Indians, the city came under the control of

928-683: The Jaffna Fort hints to maritime trade between the Jaffna Peninsula and South Asia , Arabian Peninsula and the Far East . Jaffna and surrounding region was part of the chiefdom of Naga Nadu mentioned in the 5th century CE Tamil epic Manimekalai and the Pali chronicle Mahavamsa as inhabited by tribal Naga people , surmised as one of the earliest tribes of Sri Lanka . They had according to scholars fully assimilated to Tamil language and culture by

986-574: The Shaivite tradition but might also propitiate the village deities . Most Christians are Roman Catholics with a small but influential number of Protestants belonging to the Church of South India , the successor organisation of American Ceylon Mission and other colonial era Protestant churches. The Catholic Church has a diocese headquartered in the city. All Moors were Muslims with the Sunni sect predominating with

1044-466: The Sri Lankan Army regained control. The majority of the city's population are Sri Lankan Tamils with a significant number of Sri Lankan Moors , Indian Tamils and other ethnic groups present in the city prior to the civil war. Most Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians, Muslims and a small Buddhist minority. The city is home to number of educational institutions established during

1102-500: The Vijayanagara Empire mentions the place as Yalpaanayanpaddinam . The name also occurs on copper plates issued by Sethupathi kings of the same era. The suffix -pattinam indicates the place to have been a seaport town. The origin of the name can be traced to a legend about the town's etymology. A king (supposedly Ukkirasinghan ) was visited by the blind Panan musician, who was an expert in vocal music and one skilled in

1160-581: The Wesleyan church . In 1863, the Ceylon Patriot was published by a local advocate as a weekly. The Jaffna Catholic Guardian and the Hindu Organ were published by Roman Catholic and Hindu organisations to present their religious interests between 1876 and 1889 respectively. The first Tamil monthly was Sanmarkapothini which was published in 1884. Katiresu 2004 , p. 29 These early journals were followed by

1218-487: The 1930s to acquire government grants for land in the region and to engage in paddy (rice) cultivation. During the 1970s, a large number of immigrants from the hill country, predominantly Indian Tamils , settled in the town. Much of the population immigrated overseas (Europe, US, Canada, Australia, etc.) during the Civil War (1990 onward). The population has begun to rise after the end of the war. The LTTE first took hold of

SECTION 20

#1732854543333

1276-526: The 1980s, but suffered damage or destruction during the subsequent civil war. During the Dutch period, Jaffna also became prominent as a trading town in locally grown agricultural products with the native merchants and farmers profiting as much as the VOC merchants. Great Britain took over the Dutch possessions in Sri Lanka from 1796. Britain maintained many of the Dutch mercantile, religious, and taxation policies. During

1334-619: The 9th century CE or earlier. During the medieval times, the Kingdom of Aryacakravarti came into existence in the 13th century as an ally to the Pandyan Empire in South India. When the Pandyan Empire became weak due to Muslim invasions, successive Aryacakravarti rulers made the Jaffna kingdom independent and a regional power to reckon with in Sri Lanka. Nallur a suburb of Jaffna served as

1392-426: The British colonial period, almost all the schools that eventually played role in the high literacy achievement of the Jaffna residents were built by missionaries belonging to American Ceylon Mission , Wesleyan Methodist Mission , Saivite reformer Arumuka Navalar and others. Under British rule, Jaffna enjoyed a period of rapid growth and prosperity, as the British built the major roads and railway line connecting

1450-499: The Dutch occupation, the city grew in population and size. The Dutch were more tolerant towards native mercantile and religious activities than the Portuguese had been. Most of the Hindu temples that the Portuguese had destroyed were rebuilt. A community of mixed Eurasian Dutch Burghers grew up. The Dutch rebuilt the fort and expanded it considerably. They also built Presbyterian churches and government buildings, most of which survived until

1508-469: The Jaffna kingdom. Impetus for a permanent fortified settlement happened only after 1619, when the expeditionary forces of the Portuguese Empire led by Filipe de Oliveira captured Cankili II , the last native king. De Oliveira moved the center of political and military control from Nallur to Jaffnapatao (variously spelt as Jaffnapattan or Jaffnapattam), the Portuguese rendition of the native name for

1566-556: The Kotte kingdom from 1450 to 1467. The kingdom was re-established with the disintegration of Kotte kingdom and the fragmentation of Viyanagara Empire. It maintained very close commercial and political relationships with the Thanjavur Nayakar kingdom in southern India as well as the Kandyan and segments of the Kotte kingdom. This period saw the building of Hindu temples in the peninsula and

1624-815: The LTTE once more, but they were ousted in 1995 after a 50-day siege. The economic embargo of the rebel controlled territories in general also had a negative impact in Jaffna including lack of power, critical medicines and food. During the period of LTTE occupation, all Muslim residents were expelled in 1990 and forced evacuated all residents in 1995. Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees have begun to return and visible reconstruction has taken place. The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and business interests from Colombo have invested in commercial enterprises. Countries in Europe, US and India have shown an interest in investing in infrastructure projects and other economic activities. The city

1682-527: The Public library that are notable. Almost all Hindu temples in Jaffna including the socially important Nallur Kandaswamy temple were reconstructed during the Dutch and British period. See Category:People from Jaffna Sister City initiatives give opportunities for the cities' residents to become familiar with each other's cultures. The initiatives will facilitate the cultural, educational, municipal, business, professional and technical exchanges and projects among

1740-591: The Sri Lankan Military and Government. This district has one university faculty and several Government Colleges such as Faculty of Agriculture of University of Jaffna , Kilinochchi Central College , Hindu College, Uruthirapuram Maha Vidyalayam school, Vaddakkachchi Maha Vidyalayam school, institution etc. Jaffna Jaffna ( Tamil : யாழ்ப்பாணம் , romanized:  Yāḻppāṇam , IPA: [jaːɻpːaːɳɐm] ; Sinhala : යාපනය , romanized:  Yāpanaya , IPA: [jaːpənəjə] )

1798-558: The capital of the four-century-long medieval Tamil Jaffna Kingdom . Prior to the Sri Lankan Civil War , it was Sri Lanka's second most populous city after Colombo . The 1980s insurgent uprising led to extensive damage, expulsion of part of the population, and military occupation. Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees and internally displaced people began returning to homes, while government and private sector reconstruction started taking place. Historically, Jaffna has been

Kilinochchi - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-568: The capital of the kingdom. Politically, it was an expanding power in the 13th and 14th century with all regional kingdoms paying tribute to it. However, it met with simultaneous confrontations with the Vijayanagar empire that ruled from Vijayanagara , southern India, and a rebounding Kotte Kingdom from the southern Sri Lanka. This led to the kingdom becoming a vassal of the Vijyanagar Empire as well as briefly losing its independence under

1914-419: The city center is the island of Mandativu which is connected by a causway . Palmyrah groves can be seen where land has not been used for construction. Other notable vegetation is a leafless shrub called talai (alae africana) and koddanai ( oleander ). Jaffna features a tropical savanna climate with a dry season between February and August, and a wet season between September and January. Jaffna has

1972-464: The city directly rather than share power with a highly literate electorate. The first elected mayor of Jaffna Municipal council was Sam A. Sabapathy . During the civil conflict, number of mayors were assassinated such as Alfred Duraiappah , Sarojini Yogeswaran and Pon Sivapalan . There were 15 years without elections after 1983. The post civil war elections were held in 2009 after a gap of 11 years. The municipal council consists of 29 members. As

2030-606: The city was overtaken by the growth of settlements near Colombo. But even in 1981 Jaffna was the largest city outside the Greater Colombo area . The population of Jaffna, like the rest of the North and East , has been heavily affected by the civil war. Many of its Tamil residents have emigrated to the West or moved to the relative safety of Colombo . The city's small Moor and Sinhalese population have either been forcibly expelled or fled. As

2088-494: The city with Colombo, Kandy and the rest of the country. The prosperity of the city's citizens enabled them to underwrite the building of temples and schools, and the library and museum. After Sri Lanka became independent in 1948 from Britain, the relationship between majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils worsened. Considered the heart of Tamil culture and literature in Sri Lanka, Jaffna was concentrated with growing Tamil nationalism, which called for autonomy for Tamils to protest

2146-448: The colonial and post-colonial period. It also has number of commercial institutions, minor industrial units, banks, hotels and other government institutions. It is home to many historical sites such as the popular Jaffna library that was burnt down and rebuilt and the Jaffna fort which was rebuilt during the Dutch colonial period. Jaffna is known in Tamil as Yalpanam and earlier known as Yalpanapattinam . A 15th-century inscription of

2204-492: The discrimination against them by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka government and Sinhalese civilians since Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948. Residents of Jaffna city along with the rest of Tamil population of Sri Lanka were in the fore front of the political mobilisation behind Tamil nationalist parties. After the Tamil conference incident in 1974, the then mayor of Jaffna Alfred Duraiappah

2262-403: The economic activities. In modern times, the port was its principal source of revenue but it has declined drastically. Currently it survives as a fishing port. The city had a wide range of industries, including food processing, packaging, making of household items, and salt processing, but most ceased after 1995. Since then, most industrialists, entrepreneurs, and business people have relocated to

2320-431: The former Royal capital. Jaffnapatao was attacked number of times by A local rebel Migapulle Arachchi and his allied Thanjavur Nayakar expeditionary forces attacked Jaffnapatao a number of times, but the Portuguese defence of the city withstood the attacks. Jaffnapatao was a small town with a fort, a harbour, Catholic chapels, and government buildings. Portuguese merchants took over the lucrative trade of elephants from

2378-631: The harbor known as ‘ Aluppanthy ’ situated previously at the Gurunagar area seem as its evidences. The colloquial form of Yalpanam is Yappanam. The Ya and Ja including pp and ff are easily interchangeable. Jaffna is a version of Yalpanam that was adopted by non-Tamil speaking rulers and settlers. As soon as it went into foreign language, it lost the Tamil ending m and consequently stood as Jaffna . Megalithic excavations reveal settlements of an early period in this region. The bronze Anaikoddai seal with Tamil-Brahmi and Indus script indicates

Kilinochchi - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-512: The highest average temperature in Sri Lanka of 28 °C (83 °F). The temperature is highest in the months of April-May and August-September. The temperature is coolest in December-January. The annual rainfall is brought in by the North East monsoon and it varies from one place to the other and also from year to year. The average rainfall is approximately 1,300 millimetres or 50 inches in

2494-532: The interior and monopolised the import of goods from Colombo and India , disfranchising the local merchants. The Portuguese era was a time of population movement to the Vannimais in the south, religious change, and as well as the introduction to the city of European education and health care. In 1658, Portuguese lost Jaffapatao to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) after a three-month siege. During

2552-486: The major irrigation source for paddy and various other cultivations. However, the economy of the town has suffered in recent times due to the economic crisis, which has resulted in a lack of fertilizer and fuel, reducing crop yields. Kilinochchi is connected to the Sri Lanka Railways Northern Line via its railway station . The A-9 Highway passes through the town, giving it direct connection with

2610-500: The major cities of Jaffna and Kandy . Kilinochchi is served with all Jaffna- and Colombo-based newspapers. The Jaffna-based Uthayan has a regional office in Kilinochchi. There have been discussions of not distributing Jaffna-based newspapers in the Vanni area, especially Uthayan . Uthayan is highly critical of inappropriate land acquisition in the Jaffna peninsula and the Vanni region by

2668-461: The media heavily censored. Since the 2000s Jaffna is served by newspapers such as Uthayan , Yarl Thinakkural and Valampurii . Some historic buildings such as Temples, Saraswathy Mahal library and palaces in the royal city of Nallur and the rest of Jaffna peninsula were destroyed by the Portuguese colonials. Materials from destroyed buildings were used in the construction of the Jaffna fort and other fortifications. Cankilian Thopu or entrance of

2726-415: The natives lived in separate sections of the city. Most houses were modest in size and the streets were kept clean. After the 1900s the population increased and Sinhalese from the south also settled in Jaffna. Prior to the civil war there were Moors, Sinhalese, Indian Tamils and other ethnic groups living in Jaffna. During colonial times, Jaffna was Ceylon's (Sri Lanka) second largest city. Post-independence

2784-434: The original on 16 December 2012. ^ "Table 2.4: Population of Municipal Councils and urban councils by sex, Census, 2012" (PDF) . Statistics Statistical Abstract 2016 . Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. External links [ edit ] [REDACTED] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cities in Sri Lanka . v t e Sri Lankan cities with

2842-440: The original municipal council building was destroyed during the civil war, a new building is to be constructed for the current municipal council in 2011. See also: List of mayors of Jaffna Historically residents of Jaffna were Tamils, Moors (Muslims), Europeans and Eurasian Burghers. Over time the composition changed with Tamils and Moors predominating and Europeans and Burghers either assimilating or moving away. Europeans and

2900-491: The palace of Cankili I and Mantri Manai or minister's palace are few of the pre-colonial buildings still standing in the royal quarters of Nallur. Within the Jaffna city proper, the Dutch fort is an imposing structure followed by many Dutch era homes, churches and civil buildings most of which were damaged during the civil war. There are number of British colonial era building such as the Indo-Sarasenic style clock tower and

2958-567: The rest of Sri Lanka and abroad. After 2009, foreign governments within the EU, US, India, and investors from the south of the island and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora have shown an interest in making investments in Jaffna district in general and Jaffna city in particular. Shopping malls such as the Cargills Square and hotels such as Jetwing Jaffna, Tilko Jaffna City Hotel have been built boosting

SECTION 50

#1732854543333

3016-5689: The sister cities. Its sister cities are: List of cities in Sri Lanka From Misplaced Pages, the 💕 The following is a list of settlements in Sri Lanka with a population over 50,000. Cities [ edit ] City Image DS Division District Province Population Area Density (/km ) Coordinates Conurbation (2012 est) Municipality (2012 census) km mi Colombo කොළඹ கொழும்பு [REDACTED] Colombo / Thimbirigasyaya Colombo Western 752,993 561,314 37 14 15,171 6°56′04″N 79°50′34″E  /  6.93444°N 79.84278°E  / 6.93444; 79.84278 Dehiwala- Mount Lavinia දෙහිවල-ගල්කිස්ස தெஹிவளை-கல்கிசை [REDACTED] Dehiwala Colombo Western 245,974 184,468 21 8 8,784 6°50′23″N 79°52′33″E  /  6.83972°N 79.87583°E  / 6.83972; 79.87583 Moratuwa මොරටුව மொறட்டுவை [REDACTED] Moratuwa Colombo Western 207,755 168,280 23 9 7,317 6°47′57″N 79°52′36″E  /  6.79917°N 79.87667°E  / 6.79917; 79.87667 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte ශ්‍රී ජයවර්ධනපුර කෝට්ටේ ஶ்ரீ ஜெயவர்த்தனபுரம் கோட்டை [REDACTED] Kotte Colombo Western 135,806 107,925 17 7 6,349 6°54′39″N 79°53′16″E  /  6.91083°N 79.88778°E  / 6.91083; 79.88778 Negombo මීගමුව நீர்கொழும்பு [REDACTED] Negombo Gampaha Western 127,754 142,449 31 12 4,595 7°13′00″N 79°50′00″E  /  7.21667°N 79.83333°E  / 7.21667; 79.83333 Kandy මහනුවර கண்டி [REDACTED] Kandy Kandy Central 125,351 98,828 27 10 3,660 7°17′47″N 80°38′06″E  /  7.29639°N 80.63500°E  / 7.29639; 80.63500 Kalmunai කල්මුනේ கல்முனை [REDACTED] Kalmunai Muslim / Kalmunai Tamil / Sainthamarathu Ampara Eastern 106,783 99,893 23 9 4,343 7°25′00″N 81°49′00″E  /  7.41667°N 81.81667°E  / 7.41667; 81.81667 Vavuniya වවුනියාව வவுனியா [REDACTED] Vavuniya Vavuniya Northern 99,653 34,816 8°45′00″N 80°29′00″E  /  8.75000°N 80.48333°E  / 8.75000; 80.48333 Galle ගාල්ල காலி [REDACTED] Galle Galle Southern 99,478 86,333 17 7 5,078 6°02′03″N 80°12′59″E  /  6.03417°N 80.21639°E  / 6.03417; 80.21639 Trincomalee ත්‍රිකුණාමලය திருகோணமலை [REDACTED] Trincomalee Town and Gravets Trincomalee Eastern 99,135 48,351 8°34′00″N 81°14′00″E  /  8.56667°N 81.23333°E  / 8.56667; 81.23333 Batticaloa මඩකලපුව மட்டக்களப்பு [REDACTED] Manmunai North Batticaloa Eastern 92,332 86,227 75 29 1,150 7°43′00″N 81°42′00″E  /  7.71667°N 81.70000°E  / 7.71667; 81.70000 Jaffna යාපනය யாழ்ப்பாணம் [REDACTED] Jaffna / Nallur Jaffna Northern 88,138 80,829 20 8 4,041 9°40′00″N 80°00′00″E  /  9.66667°N 80.00000°E  / 9.66667; 80.00000 Matale මාතලේ மாத்தளை [REDACTED] Matale Matale Central 78,864 38,299 25 10 4,051 7°28′7″N 80°37′22″E  /  7.46861°N 80.62278°E  / 7.46861; 80.62278 Katunayake කටුනායක கட்டுநாயகம் Katana Gampaha Western 76,816 60,915 21 2,794 7°10′00″N 79°52′00″E  /  7.16667°N 79.86667°E  / 7.16667; 79.86667 Dambulla දඹුල්ල தம்பள்ளை [REDACTED] Dambulla Matale Central 72,306 23,814 54 21 441 7°51′24″N 80°38′57″E  /  7.85667°N 80.64917°E  / 7.85667; 80.64917 Kolonnawa කොලොන්නාව கொழுன்னை Kolonnawa Colombo Western 64,887 60,044 6°55′00″N 79°54′00″E  /  6.91667°N 79.90000°E  / 6.91667; 79.90000 Anuradhapura අනුරාධපුරය அனுராதபுரம் [REDACTED] Anuradhapura Anuradhapura North Central 63,208 50,595 36 14 1,405 8°21′00″N 80°23′00″E  /  8.35000°N 80.38333°E  / 8.35000; 80.38333 Ratnapura රත්නපුර இரத்தினபுரி [REDACTED] Ratnapura Ratnapura Sabaragamuwa 52,170 47,105 20 8 2,474 6°40′00″N 80°24′00″E  /  6.66667°N 80.40000°E  / 6.66667; 80.40000 References [ edit ] ^ "Table 15.1: Area, Population, Registered voters and Employees of Municipalities, 2015" (PDF) . Statistics Statistical Abstract 2016 . Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. ^ "Sri Lanka: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population" . World Gazetteer. Archived from

3074-532: The tourism industry in the city. Jaffna is 396 kilometres (246 miles) from Colombo. It is directly connected by railways and the roads system . The city was served by the Yal Devi train and other 5 trains daily from Colombo . The primary railway station in the city is the Jaffna Railway Station . The A-9 highway connecting the city with the rest of the country was opened after the 2002 ceasefire. It

3132-615: The town in 1990 when the Army withdrew its garrisons from Kilinochchi. Then the area was retaken by the Army during Operation Sathjaya in September 1996. The town again fell into the LTTE's hand in September 1998 who held their administrative hub there until retreating during the Battle of Kilinochchi on 2 January 2009. Several institutions of the LTTE were forced to relocate from Kilinochchi to Tharmapuram ,

3190-572: The use of instrument called Yal . The king who was delighted to the music played with the Yal by the Panan, presented him a sandy plain. The Panan returned to India and introduced some members of his tribe as impecunious as himself to accompany to this land of promise, and it is surmised that their place of settlement was that part of the city which is known at present as Passaiyoor and Gurunagar . The Columbuthurai Commercial Harbor situated at Colombuthurai and

3248-534: The western part of Jaffna peninsula. The Jaffna Municipal Council governs the City of Jaffna. It was established under the Municipalities Ordinance Act of 1865 . Although other cities such as Kandy , Galle and Colombo had elected municipal councils soon after the 1865 ordinance, Jaffna did not have an elected municipal council for many years. This reflected the desire of the British bureaucrats to govern

3306-494: Was assassinated by the leader of rebel LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran in 1975. Following further deterioration of political discourse, the Jaffna library was burnt down in 1981 by Police and other miscreants. Failure of the political class to find an adequate compromise led to full-scale civil war starting in 1983 soon after the Black July pogrom. Sri Lankan military and police were using the Dutch era fort as their encampment which

3364-501: Was surrounded by various Tamil militant groups. Bombardment from air and land of the city led to damage to civic and civilian properties, death and injury to civilians and destruction the economic potential of the city. In 1986, the Sri Lankan military withdrew from the city and it came under the full control of the LTTE. In 1987, the Indian forces brought to Sri Lanka under the auspices of

#332667