North Western Province, Sri Lanka

North Western Province, or "Wayamba" as it is known in Sri Lanka is a province of Sri Lanka. The districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam formulate Wayamba. Its capital is Kurunegala, which has a population of 28,571. The province is known mainly for its numerous Coconut plantations. Other main towns in this province are Chilaw (24,712) and Puttalam (45,661), which are both small fishing towns. The majority of the population of Wayamba province is of Sinhalese ethnicity. There is also a substantial Sri Lankan Moor minority around Puttalam. Fishing and prawn farming are some other main industries, alongside coconut and rubber plantations. The province has an area of 7,888 km², and a population of 2,184,136 (2005 calculation by [1]).

Name

Geography

Climate

The climate of Wayamba is tropical, with a marked dry season, and temperatures averaging between 25ºC in January to 28ºC in March. The south of the province is wetter, with almost 2000 mm of rainfall per year, but the north of the province is one of the driest regions in Sri Lanka, averaging under 1000 mm of rain in parts.

Districts

North Western province is divided into 2 districts:

Kurunegala District 4,771 km²
Puttalam District 2,976 km²
Kurunegala
Puttalam
Chilaw (Halawatha)
Mawathagam
Kuliyapitiya
Wariyapola
Marawila
Dankotuwa
Narammala
Mawathagama
Malsiripura
Polgahawela
Ibbagamuwa
Nikaweratiya
Maho
Galgamuwa
Wennappuwa
Nattandiya
Anamaduwa
Kalpitiya
Bangadeniya
Palavi
Thalawila
Giriulla
Pannala
Dambadeniya
Hiriyala
Yapahuwa
Hettipola

People and Culture

Wennappuwa

Education

Wayamba University of Sri Lanka [2]is the highest educational institute in the province Wayamba University Consists of four faculties Agriculture & Plantation MAnagement Livestock Fisheries & Nutrition Applied Sciencesand Business Studies & Finance

Transportation

Roads

The region is served by an extensive rail & road transport system providing linkages to the major cities and ports in Sri Lanka. Some major roads include,

A 6: Ambepussa – Kurunegala – Dambulla – Trincomalee (192 km)
A 10: Katugastota – Kurunegala – Puttalam (125km)
A 12: Puttalam-Anuradhapura-Trincomalee (179km)

Railway Lines

Colombo, Ragama Junction, Polgahawela Junction, Kurunegala, Maho Junction, Anuradhapura. Served by the Rajarata Rajini (Queen of North Central Region).
Colombo, Ragama Junction, Negombo, Chilaw, Bangadeniya and Puttalam (1926). Served by the Muthu Kumari (Pearl Princess). A route of 83 miles along the North-Western coast.

Industrial Land

Wayamba is the location for Mawathagama and Polghawela Export Processing Zones and boasts several other industrial estates such as Dambadeniya, Makandura West, Makadura East, Pannala, Lunuwila, Heraliyawela, Dangaspitiya, Dankotuwa and Noorani.

Mineral Resources

Wayamba Province is also rich with several types of mineral deposits. These include,

Silica Sand - The best known silica sand deposits are found in the Marawila, Madampe and Nattandiya areas of the province.
Miocene Limestone - The largest deposits of Miocene limestone are found in the north western coastal belt near Puttalam. The limestones are used for cement manufcturing.
Graphite (Bogala, Kahatagaha and Dodamgaslanda Graphite mines)
Mica
Beach mineral sands including ilmenite
Clay

Major Agricultural Crops

Wayamba has a highly developed agricultural economy, growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, flowering plants, spices, oil-seeds in addition to the traditional plantation crops such as Coconut, Rubber and Rice. Rich soils and varied climate give Wayamba a potential for growing of virtually any crop.

Paddy is the main agricultural crop in the province. Wayamba is the third largest paddy producing area in Sri Lanka. There are two main cultivation seasons. The Maha Season (October-January) or the period with excessive rainfall and the Yala Season (April-August) the drier season. In Yala season, the farmers have to depend on irrigation. More recent times, the paddy farmers during the dry season have opted to cultivate export crops and subsidiary food crops that bring bigger profits.

Coconut – The largest industry in the Wayamba Province. The extent of land under coconut is 48% of the island’s acreage.
Paddy
Cereals – Kurakkan, maize, green gram, cowpea
Root Crops – sweet potatoes, red onions
Fruits – Pineapples, Mangoes, Papaya, Banana, Avocado
Vegetables – Gherkin, Asparagus, and many local vegetables
Cashew Nut is also cultivated on a large scale in the Wayamba province. Wayamba is a major Cashew exporting region in Sri Lanka. The northern most dry region is ideally suited for Cashew cultivation.
Fisheries Industry/ Prawn Farming - The western coast of the North Western region is endowed with rich fisheries and other aquatic resources. The major varieties found in abundance are tuna, prawns, lobsters and cuttlefish. The country’s export-oriented commercial prawn farming industry is concentrated in the coastal areas of the Puttalam district.

Banking and Financial Services

The Wayamba province is well served by all major commercial banking and financial institutions of Sri Lanka. These include, Bank of Ceylon, Commercial Bank of Sri Lanka, Sampath Bank, National Savings Bank, Hatton National Bank People’s Bank, Seylan Bank and the Union Bank. All of these banks have an extensive coverage of their branches in the province. Three other development banks of Sri Lanka, namely The DFCC Bank, National Development Bank, Wayamba Development Bank also provide services to the province.

Attractions

Archaeological Sites

The Wayamba province is a treasure house of archaeology having been seat of four medieval kingdoms of Sri Lanka between the mid 12th and mid 14th centuries. Having forced to move capitals due to foreign invasions, Sri Lankan kings nevertheless built magnificent citadels Panduwasnuwara, Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa and Kurunegala. Impressive remains of those citadels, palaces, Buddhist temples and monasteries provide exciting sight seeing to the visitors.

Rock Temples

Wayamba and Kurunegala are also the home for other ancient Buddhist rock temples, mostly with 1st century B.C roots, with wall and ceiling frescos, colossal Buddha images, stone inscriptions and sculptures dating from early medieval to 18th century period.

Beaches

The sparkling blue surf of the Indian Ocean and scenic tropical lagoons which edge the western shores of the Wayamba province are glided with 240 kilometres of wide, sun drenched beaches. These beaches stretch from Waikkal at its southern end to Dutch Bay in the Puttalam district.

Some of Wayamba's best resort beaches are at Marawila, Talwila, Kalpitiya and Waikkal. These beaches are often with the bonus of a lagoon or a river front and make excellent bases for stay-put beach holidays. Some of the beach resorts also offer viewing of underwater Coral wonderlands off Kandakuliya and Karaitivu. Many fishing villages dot the coastal areas.

European Colonial Monuments

The well preserved Dutch Fort in Kalpitiya (Puttalam district) dating back to 1670 is an evidence of the North Western Province’s European colonial period. The fort is complete with barracks, store houses and living quarters, Dutch colonial pillars and ancient tombstones. Kurunegala has many 19th century relics of the British colonial period including the government Agent’s residence and the Rajapihilla rest house.

Festivals

The people of Wayamba celebrate many traditional festivals centred on sacred shrines of diverse faith.

All Buddhist temples celebrate the Vesak, Poson and Esela festivals commemorating the events of great importance to the Buddhists. These festivals feature colourful decorations, lanterns, illuminations and pageants where traditional dancing, drumming, costumed dignitaries and elephants are paraded. Two noteworthy colourful Buddhist processions are organised by the Wilbawa Raja Maha Viharaya (Major temple) and Athanda Raja Maha Viharaya and are paraded in the Kurunegala city.

The St Anne's Roman Catholic church is located on a magnificent beach stretch in Talawila in the Puttalam district. The church draws thousands of pilgrims for its main festivals in March and July.

The Munneswaram and Udappuwa Hindu temples are pilgrim centres of many devotees. People gather to worship deities and seek favours. The main temple of God Shiva at Munneswaram, comprises of the shrines and has been built according to traditional Hindu style. Munneswaram celebrates its major festival in August where fire-walking is practiced. Udappuwa, a sea side shrine complex of three shrines, also has a colourful festival held in the month of August.

All three shrines are easily accessible from Kurunegala, - Munneswaram approximately 70 km, Udappuwa 95 km and St. Anne’s about 110 km respectively.

The Ramazan, Haj and Milad-un-Nabi festivals are also celebrated by the minority Muslims of Wayamba especially at historic and famed mosques in Puttalam, Kuruenegala and Chilaw. These celebrations are mainly of religious character, recitations of Koran and distribution of cooked food and sweets.

Research Institutes

Coconut Research Institute, Lunuwila
Rice Research and Development Institute, Batalagoda

References

External links

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7°45′N 80°10′E / 7.750°N 80.167°E / 7.750; 80.167