Ampara
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2009) |
Ampara
අම්පාර அம்பாறை | |
|---|---|
| Ampara Clock Tower Ampara Clock Tower | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Coordinates: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Eastern |
| District | Ampara |
| Government | |
| • Type | Urban Council |
| • Chairman | M. A. Chaminda Sugath (UPFA) |
| Population (2012) | |
• Total | 43,829[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) |
Ampara (Sinhala: අම්පාර, Tamil: அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council.
It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about 360 km (224 mi) east of Colombo and approximately 60 km (37 mi) south of Batticaloa.
History
[edit | edit source]This was a hunters' resting place during British colonial days (late 1890s and early 1900). During the development of the Gal Oya scheme from 1949 by the Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake, Ampara was transformed into a town.[2] Initially it was the residence for the construction workers of Inginiyagala Dam. Later it became the main administrative town of the Gal Oya Valley.
Religious composition in Ampara DS Division according to 2012 census data is as follows Buddhists 42,584-97.16%, Roman Catholics 537-1.23%, Islam 322-0.73%, Other Christian 237-0.54%, Hindus 145-0.33%, Others 4-0.01%.
