Moratuwa
Encyclopedia
Moratuwa is a city on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, near Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....

Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 (Galle road) main highway, 18 km south of the capital, Colombo. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides by water, except in the north of the city, by the Indian Ocean on the west and the Bolgoda lake on the east. According to the 2001 census, the city had a population of 177,190.

History

Moratuwa is derived from "Mura Atuwa" meaning "Sentry Turret" in Sinhalese. Queen Leelawathie (1208-1210 AD) appointed a military commander Lak Vijaya Singukith Senevi, and placed him in charge of 100,000 soldiers at Moratuwa. He was called 'Lakshadipaty' (meaning "governor of one lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...

") and the area he was based is known as 'Lakshapathiya' to this day.

Moratuwa is also the proud birthplace of Veera Puran Appu
Puran Appu
Weerahennadige Francisco Fernando alias Puran Appu is one of the notable personalities in Sri Lanka's history. He was born on November 1812 in the coastal town of Moratuwa. He left Moratuwa at the age of 13 and stayed in Ratnapura with his uncle, who was the first Sinhalese proctor, and moved to...

 a hero who rose against oppression by the British in Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...

.

Municipal structure

Moratuwa consists of 21 main areas: Angulana, Borupana, Dahampura, Egoda Uyana, Idama, Indibedda, Kadalana, Kaduwamulla, Kaldemulla, Katubedda, Katukurunda, Koralawella, Lakshapathiya, Molpe, Moratumulla, Rawathawatta, Soysapura, Thelawala, Uswatta, Uyana and Willorawatta.

Industries

Industries in Moratuwa include the manufacture of furniture, rubber products, batteries, transformers, and wood handicrafts. The city is also a fishing and trading center. Out of these Moratuwa is most well known for its furniture.

Education

The University of Moratuwa
University of Moratuwa
The University of Moratuwa, located on the banks of the Bolgoda Lake in Katubedda, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, is a technological university in Sri Lanka. Apart from the academics including the undergraduate and postgraduate studies, university of Moratuwa presents a variety of social and cultural...

, a leading technological university in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 is situated in Moratuwa. Popular high schools in the area include St. Sebastian's' College,Our Lady of Victories ConventPrince of Wales' College
Prince of Wales' College, Moratuwa
'Prince of Wales College is a School in Sri Lanka.The school is situated in Moratuwa, a suburb of Colombo. Prince of Wales' College was founded in 1876 by Sir Charles Henry de Soysa who was a famous 19th Century Sri Lankan philanthropist...

, Princess of Wales College, , Moratuwa Maha Vidyalaya and Sunnada Upannada Vidyalaya.

Cricket

Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 is the most popular sport in Moratuwa. Moratuwa is famous for its cricket stars such as Duleep Mendis
Duleep Mendis
Louis Rohan Duleep Mendis is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who captained Sri Lanka to their first Test series victory in 1985. He was primarily a specialist batsman, whose best period as a player came from 1982 to 1985. His first years of school were spent at St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa...

,Susil Fernando ,Roger Wejesuriya, Hemal Mendis,Romesh Kaluwitharana Sriyan Samararatna, Prasanna Jayawardene
Prasanna Jayawardene
Hewasandatchige Asiri Prasanna Wishvanath Jayawardene is a Sri Lankan cricketer...

, Dinusha Fernando
Dinusha Fernando
Kandana Arachchige Dinusha Manoj Fernando is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler....

, Lahiru Thirimanne
Lahiru Thirimanne
Hettige Don Rumesh Lahiru Thirimanne is a Sri Lankan international cricketer. A left-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler, he made his One Day International debut in early 2010. He made his Test debut against England at the Rose Bowl in June 2011, coming into the side for the...

 and Ajantha Mendis
Ajantha Mendis
Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslo Mendis is a cricketer who plays for the Sri Lankan national cricket team.Mendis, although classified as slow-medium, bowls a mixture of deliveries, including googlies, off-breaks, top-spinners, flippers and leg-breaks, as well as the carrom ball, released with a flick...

. An international cricket stadium, De Soysa Stadium (Tyronne Fernando Stadium) is situated in Moratuwa.

Music

Moratuwa is famous for its music and is home to some well-known musicians such as W. D. Amaradeva,C.T Fernando M. S. Fernando
M. S. Fernando
M. S. Fernando was a Sri Lankan baila singer. He is heralded a major player in the development of baila music and was widely popular among Sri Lankan audiences....

, Nihal Nelson (Golden Chimes Band) Los Flamingos,, Christopher Paul, Priya Peiris (La Bambas
La Bambas
La Bambas was an influential Sri Lankan music group, composed of Priya Peiris, Rolinson Ferdinando, Brian Fernando, Erinton Perera and Lasla Fernando...

), Sunil Perera (The Gypsies
The Gypsies
This article is about the Sri Lankan band, for other uses of the term see The Gypsies The Gypsies are a Sri Lankan band that perform English and Sinhala songs and have been around since the early 1970s.-History:...

), Paul Fernando, Saman Silva,Chandra Devadithiya,, Derik De Silva,Danapala Udawaththa, Rajiv Sebastian, Lankika Perera, Lucky Deva,Malkanthi Nandhasiri, and Merril Fernando.
The town also has a famous "theme song", "Punsada paaya Moratuwa dillenna"http://www.laptopman.com.au/PunsadaPaya.mp3 (meaning "Moratuwa in the splendour of the full moon"), which is a staple at most musical events held in Moratuwa.

Tourism

Tourism is nominal but more visitors have come recently due to the increasing popularity of the Bolgoda Lake in Moratuwa. Many hotels and guesthouses have opened by the waterfront. The once famous Moratuwa Beach is no longer present due to sea erosion.
The coastal areas of Moratuwa received some damages during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Demographics

EthnicityPopulation% Of Total
Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...

168,324 95.00
Sri Lankan Tamils 4,433 2.50
Indian Tamils
Indian Tamils
Indian Tamils may refer to:* Tamil people from or living in India* Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka...

375 0.21
Sri Lankan Moors
Sri Lankan Moors
The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries...

2,452 1.38
Other (including Burgher
Burgher people
The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries and local women, with some minorities of Swedish, Norwegian, French and Irish.Today the mother tongue of the Burghers...

, Malay)
1,606 0.91
Total 177,190 100

Source: http://www.statistics.gov.lk/census2001/population/district/t002c.htm

Maps


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK