Sammanthurai

Coordinates: 7°22′0″N 81°48′0″E / 7.36667°N 81.80000°E / 7.36667; 81.80000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sammanthurai
சம்மாந்துறை
සමන්තර
සම්මාන්තුරේ
UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone)
Postal code
32200
Area code067

Sammanthurai (Tamil: சம்மாந்துறை, romanized: Cam'māntuṟai; Sinhala: සමන්තර, romanized: Samantara, Sinhala: සම්මාන්තුරේ, romanized: Sammānturē), is a town in Ampara District of Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Sammanthurai situated at 7°22′0″N 81°48′0″E / 7.36667°N 81.80000°E / 7.36667; 81.80000,[1] is 4.8 km west of the Bay of Bengal coast. It lies between the towns of Ampara and Karaitivu along the A31 road. It is surrounded by paddy fields and it is renowned for its rice paddies and its inner harbour from ancient times.[2]

Sammanthurai is the birthplace of M. H. M. Ashraff, known as "The Kingmaker"[3] and the founder of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress political party.It is also the birthplace of former minister B.A. Majeed[UNP] Who developed sammanthurai into a town

History

Sammanthurai is an important and historical place of Sri Lanka. It was the first place where Dutch people arrived in Sri Lanka. Sammanthurai derives its name from ‘Sampan,’ the vessel, Thurai , the Harbor or port and the sailor of Sampan called as 'Hambankaraya' (Sinhala) or ‘Sammankaran’(Tamil) who were Muslims from India who came for the trade.[4]

Demographics

Sammanthurai has a population of 77,284 (2021),

Tsunami of 2004.[6]

Religion in Sammanthurai (2021)
Population Percent
Islam
 
 87%
Hindu
 
 12%
Christian
 
 0.57%
Buddhist
 
 0.04%
Others
 
 0.39%

Source:statistics.gov.lk

Climate

Being close to the

Northeast Monsoon.[citation needed
]

Education

Sammanthurai Technical College

Sammanthurai has a number of

Vocational Training Center.[9] The town is also home to two Arabic colleges:[10]
Sammanthurai Thableekul Islam and Markaz Darul Iman.

The Sammanthurai Zonal Education Office (STRZEO) operates 70 public schools in an area of 257 km2 and there are 26,039 students attending school [11] the Sammanthurai sub zone have 36 Schools and there are two 1 AB Schools in Sammanthurai. Str/ Sammanthurai Muslim Madya Maha Vidyalaya,[12] STR/Al -Marjan Muslim Ladies College, STR/ Dharussalam Maha Vidyalaya and STR/Al-Arsath Maha Vidyalaya are the four major School where the students populations is over 1000.[13]

There are four public libraries are running under the local government. Main Amir Ali Public Library has more than 10,000 books and journals.

Economy

Paddy field in Sammanthurai, Ampara, Sri Lanka

Traditionally Sammanthuraiyans (natives of Sammanthurai) rely on

service sector
and small businesses.

Culture

Sammanthurai culture is strongly influenced by Islamic thoughts. Life in Sammanthurai revolves around the prayer calls (

Eid Al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
are the two festivals celebrated here.

Islam and the people

As many as 45

Hifz Madrasa
and a Markaz Darul Iman (Arabic College)

Transport and communication

This town is well connected via road with major towns and cities in Sri Lanka. A31 road runs through Sammanthurai. Bus service is available to the nearby cities of Kalmunai, Ampara and Batticaloa. The state-owned Sri Lanka Transport Board provides regular passenger services.

Approximate distance from other cities and towns

City Distance (in km)
Anuradhapura 248
Batticaloa 49
Colombo 343
Galle 323
Hambantota 209
Jaffna 415
Kandy 195
Nuwara Eliya 214
Polonnaruwa 149
Matale 241

Infrastructure

Sammanthurai houses a

Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka
are based in the town.

In addition, Group Action For Social Order (GAFSO) and Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) Sri Lanka are the national

headquartered in Sammanthurai.[16]

Sports

Sammanthurai is home to a sports complex,[17] a public playground and many public school playgrounds. Cricket is the most popular sport as it is the most popular sport in the country.

Environmental issues

The post-tsunami and post-war development activities and subsequent resettlement programs have contributed to

contaminated water and mosquito breeding, have caused much damage to peoples’ health. The dusty air with bad odour has become a major threat to the daily lives of inhabitants of Sammanthurai.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Sammanthurai (Terra) – Geody search". geody.com.
  2. ISBN 978-955-54046-0-0
    .
  3. ^ "Muslim Politician Dies In Helicopter Crash". tribunedigital-chicagotribune.
  4. ISBN 978-955-54046-0-0
    .
  5. ^ ICTA. "Sammanthuai Divisional Secretariat – Statistical Information". www.sammanthurai.ds.gov.lk. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  6. ^ Sri Lanka: 193 Families Receive New Permanent Houses in Sammanthurai in Ampara District. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  7. ^ Average High/Low Temperature for Sammanthurai, Sri Lanka. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  8. ^ Department of Technical Education and Training. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  9. ^ Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka Archived 2013-06-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  10. ^ Sammanthurai Thableekul Islam Arabic College Incorporation Act . Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  11. ^ Ministry of Education[dead link] . Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  12. ^ "STR/MMMV (National School)".
  13. ^ "Sammanthurai Zonal Education Office".
  14. ^ Inauguration of Magistrate Court & Quazi Court, Sammanthurai 20-02-2011 Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  15. ^ Rice Research Station in Ampara opened Archived May 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "GAFSO – Contact". gafso.org.
  17. ^ "Presidential Cultural Sports Complex Handed Over to Sammanthurai Pradeshiya Sabha". Eastern Provincial Council. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  18. ^ An Evaluation of the Threats of a Dusty Environment on the Sustainability of Human Health: A Study of Sammanthurai[permanent dead link]

External links

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