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Sammanthurai

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Sammanthurai (Tamil:சம்மாந்துறை),(Sinhala:සම්මාන්තුරේ) often known by its initials S.T.R,is a town in Ampara District of Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It had a total population of 60,596 as in 2011[1]

Sammanthurai is a Moorish majority town. The Moors are all predominantly Muslim. There is a sizable community of Hindu Tamil living in peace. Majority of the people in the town speak Tamil and sizable population speak English and Sinhala. Sammanthurai also home of many tsunami of 2004[2] victims.



Geography and Climate

Sammanthurai located on 7.36215N 81.8034E[3], 4.8 km west of Bay of Bengal coast. and lies between the two main towns Ampara and Karaitivu along the A31 road. Being close to the equator, Sammanthurai enjoys Tropical wet and dry climate. Summer prevails in the months of May, June, July and August, while days in June are the hottest period during an year - with temperatures regularly reaching 30°C[4]. Monsoon occurs in November, December and January. Sammanthurai receive most of the rainfall from Northeast Monsoon.


Education

Sammanthurai has a number of post-secondary institutions. Faculty of Applied Science Campus of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka and there are two Diploma and Certificates granting colleges in Sammanthurai. These are Technical College [5] and Vocational Training Center[6]. The town is also home to an Arabic College[7].

The Sammanthurai Zonal Education Office (STRZEO) operates 65 Public Schools in an area of 257 square kilometers of the zone[8] The Main Ameer Ali Public Library has 2 branches in different part of the town.


Economy


Traditionally Sammans (Natives of Sammanthurai) are a farming community. Agriculture is the most important source of income for the townsfolk and paddy is the major crop cultivated in 55,000 acres. followed by service sector and small businesses.

The oil boom opened new vistas and in the late '70s Sammans went to the Arab countries in Arabian Peninsula for search of greener pastures.

There are lots professional living in Sammanthurai and they are engaged in their professional careers such as Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers and other professionals.


Culture


Sammanthurai culture is strongly influenced by Islamic thoughts. Life in Sammanthurai revolves around the prayer calls (Adhan). The people, particularly women heavily depend on Adhan to keep their regular activities in track. The Adhan for early morning prayer well before sunrise acts as a wake up call. It is followed by four prayer calls at various intervals on a day. Friday is observed as spiritual and commercial holiday in Sammanthurai like many Muslim countries. White or colored Sarong (Lungi) is widely used as Male clothing instead of wearing pants. However, Professionals, school/College Students wear Pants. Muslim ladies observe purdah.


Islam and the people


The place is filled with Islamic ambiance and as many as 35 Masjids are dote this town. Sammanthurai houses two religious institutions: the Thablighul Islam Arabic College and a Hifz Madrasa. Despite its strong Islamic heritage, reception of dowry is increasing, whereas few young grooms have started voicing against it. The usual form of dowry includes compulsory house to be gifted to bride by her father, jewels of gold, Money etc. However, a small exception of people here claims that Islam doesn't stipulate this kind of dowry and that it is against Islam.


Transport and Communication


This town is well connected via road and rail with major towns and cities in Sri Lanka. A31 road running through the town. Frequent bus services are available to the nearby cities (Kalmunai, Ampara and Batticaloa). There are 14 Private omni buses runs daily night services for passengers as well as freight to Colombo in addition with the state owned Sri Lanka Transport Board regular passenger services. Katunayake Airport is the nearest International airport, located around 317 km away from Sammanthurai. Auto rickshaws act as major mode of private transportation for short distance travels. For long travels, people prefer private run taxis.

Distance from major cities/towns

City Distance (in km)
Batticaloa 49
Colombo 343
Kandy 194
Galle 323
Jaffna 415

All are approximate distances. Please verify with reliable and authentic sources.


Sammanthurai has a good mobile phone network as well. Operators like Airtel, Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat and Hutch provide their services. Airtel also provides land line phones and Broadband internet connection to its subscribers. In addition, the town also has sufficient number of internet browsing cafes.



Infrastructure

The Sammanthurai Hijra Super Market where sea foods,vegetables,fruits,meat and poultry s are available. busy bazaar which served not only the town, but also its suburban villages. Sammanthurai has 4 Petrol filling stations which sell petrol, diesel and oil to the public. It houses a government base hospital with a sub hospital along with enough number of private hospitals/clinics. The Sammanthurai police station serves the town as well as the surrounding villages. Government establishments like the Post office, Magistrates court[9], Pradeshiya shaba,and Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka have their base in the town. The town has 5 ATMs from the Bank of Ceylon the Seylan Bank, the People’s Bank, the National Savings Bank and the Hatton National Bank. in addition to all these conventional banks Amana Bank is the only interest free bank bank in this town[10].



Sports

Sammanthurai home to a Sports Complex[11], a Public Playground and also playground facilities available to the students within the school premises Cricke is the most popular sport as it is the most popular sport in the country and many play cricket. Soccer is played widely in Sammanthurai with many local clubs having been formed and many compete in the national league.









References

  1. ^ Department of Census and Statistics,Srilanka (Preliminary Report Based on Sri Lanka Census of Population and Housing, 2011
  2. ^ Sri Lanka: 193 families receive new permanent houses in Sammanthurai in Ampara district
  3. ^ Geody, Sammanthurai
  4. ^ Average High/Low Temperature for Sammanthurai, Sri Lanka
  5. ^ Department of Technical education and Training
  6. ^ Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka
  7. ^ SAMMANTHURAI THABLEEKUL ISLAM ARABIC COLLEGE (INCORPORATION) ACT
  8. ^ Ministry of Education
  9. ^ Inauguration of Magistrate court & Quazi Court ,Sammanthurai 20-02-2011
  10. ^ OUR BRANCH NETWORK
  11. ^ Presidential Cultural Sports Complex handed over to Sammanthurai Pradeshiya Sabha
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