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Weligama Public Library
Weligama ( si, වැලිගම, ta, வெலிகாமம்) is a town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The name ''Weligama'', literally means "sandy village" which refers to the area's sandy sweep bay. It is approximately south of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of above the sea level. History The main industries are tourism and fishing. Weligama is a popular tourist destination and hosts several boutique hotels including an off shore islet known as '' Taprobane'', which houses a villa constructed by the French Count de Mauny, and is currently owned by Geoffrey Dobbs. It was the birthplace of the scholar monk Weligama Sri Sumangala. Weligama was significantly affected by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, with 15% of the area destroyed, with over 2,200 houses damaged or washed away, and 469 reported deaths. There are a number of sites of historical impor ...
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Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the country of Wales is a component of a multi-part sovereign state, the United Kingdom. A country may be a historically sovereign area (such as Korea), a currently sovereign territory with a unified government (such as Senegal), or a non-sovereign geographic region associated with certain distinct political, ethnic, or cultural characteristics (such as the Basque Country). The definition and usage of the word "country" is flexible and has changed over time. '' The Economist'' wrote in 2010 that "any attempt to find a clear definition of a country soon runs into a thicket of exceptions and anomalies." Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of the United Nations. The largest country by area is Russia, while the ...
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Daily News (Sri Lanka)
The ''Daily News'' is an English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is now published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House), a government-owned corporation. The newspaper commenced publishing on 3 January 1918. D. R. Wijewardena was its founder. The present-day newspaper is written as a broadsheet, with photographs printed both in color and black and white. Weekday printings include the main section, containing news on national affairs, international affairs, business, political analysis, sports, editorials and opinions. Every Thursday issue a free supplement in a tabloid paper called "Wisdom". In addition, the ''Daily News'' also provides '' The Sri Lanka Gazette'' as a supplement on every Friday. The current editor-in-chief of the daily news is Lalith Allahakkoon. Since its founding, the ''Daily News'' has been housed and printed in the historic, colonial-era Lakehouse Building, adjacent to Beira Lake, in the Fort district of Colombo. During the 20 ...
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Burgher People
Burgher people, also known simply as Burghers, are a small Eurasian ethnic group in Sri Lanka descended from Portuguese, Dutch, British and other European men who settled in Ceylon and developed relationships with native Sri Lankan women. The Portuguese and Dutch had held some of the maritime provinces of the island for centuries before the advent of the British Empire.Cook, Elsie K (1953). ''Ceylon – Its Geography, Its Resources and Its People''. London: Macmillan & Company Ltd 1953. pp 272—274. With the establishment of Ceylon as a crown colony at the end of the 18th century, most of those who retained close ties with the Netherlands departed. However, a significant community of Burghers remained and largely adopted the English language. During British rule, they occupied a highly important place in Sri Lankan social and economic life. Portuguese settlers on Ceylon were essentially traders but wished to form colonies, and Lisbon did nothing to discourage European sett ...
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Indian Tamils Of Sri Lanka
Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They are partly descended from workers sent from South India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Some also migrated on their own as merchants and as other service providers. These Tamil speakers mostly live in the central highlands, also known as the Malayakam or Hill Country yet others are also found in major urban areas and in the Northern Province. Although they are all termed as Tamils today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well as diverse South Indian caste origins. They are instrumental in the plantation sector economy of Sri Lanka. In general, socio-economically their standard of living is below that of the national average and they are described as one of the poorest and most neglected groups in Sri Lanka. In 1964 a large percent ...
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Sri Lankan Tamils
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province and are in the minority throughout the rest of the country. #Society, 70% of Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka live in the Northern and Eastern provinces. Modern Sri Lankan Tamils descend from residents of the Jaffna Kingdom, a former kingdom in the north of Sri Lanka and Vannimai Chieftaincy, chieftaincies from the east. According to the anthropological and archaeological evidence, Sri Lankan Tamils have a very long History of Sri Lanka, history in Sri Lanka and have lived on the island since at least around the 2nd century Common Era, BCE. The Sri Lankan Tamils are mostly Hindus with a significant Christian population. Sri Lankan Tamil literature on topics including religion an ...
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Sri Lankan Muslim
Islam is the third largest religion in Sri Lanka with about 9.7 percent of the total population. The main Muslim concentrations occur in Eastern Province. In other areas, such as in the cities of the western, north western and central Sri Lanka, Muslims form a segment of the non-rural population. The Muslims usually speak Tamil language in Sri Lanka. Islam in Sri Lanka trace its origin back to Middle Eastern merchants of the Indian Ocean. In the 16th century, descendants of Middle Eastern traders' were the main traders in spice, with networks extending to the Middle East, are now called the Sri Lankan Moors. About 1.9 million Sri Lankans adhere to Islam as per the Sri Lanka census of 2012. History With the arrival of Arab traders in the 7th century A.D., Islam began to flourish in Sri Lanka. The first people to profess the Islamic faith were Arab merchants and their native wives, whom they married after having them converted to Islam. By the 8th century A.D., Arab trad ...
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Sinhalese People
Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number more than 16.2 million. The Sinhalese identity is based on language, cultural heritage and nationality. The Sinhalese people speak Sinhala, an insular Indo-Aryan language, and are predominantly Theravada Buddhists, although a minority of Sinhalese follow branches of Christianity and other religions. Since 1815, they were broadly divided into two respective groups: The 'Up-country Sinhalese' in the central mountainous regions, and the 'Low-country Sinhalese' in the coastal regions; although both groups speak the same language, they are distinguished as they observe different cultural customs. According to the Mahavamsa and the Dipavamsa, a third–fifth century treatise written in Pali ...
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A2 Highway (Sri Lanka)
The A 2 is an A-Grade road in Sri Lanka. It connects Colombo and Wellawaya via Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Route Colombo to Galle The west-coast portion of the highway consists of the Galle Road. Within Colombo, the A2 serves as a north–south backbone to the city. It is split into two one-way streets from Colombo Fort to Wellawatte, in order to ease traffic flow. The highway passes through Wellawatte, Ratmalana, Kalutara, Wadduwa, Maggona, Beruwala, Bentota, Panadura, Kosgoda, Ambalangoda, Hikkaduwa, and Galle. At Galle, the highway runs through the city centre before continuing towards Hambantota. Galle to Hambantota From Galle, the highway continues east along the south coast towards Ahangama. It passes Unawatuna, Koggala, Ahangama and Weligama, before arriving at Matara. At Matara, it passes the University of Ruhuna. The highway continues towards Dikwella, Tangalle, Ambalantota, and Hambantota. To cross the artificial harbour at Hambantota, ...
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Matara, Sri Lanka
Matara ( si, මාතර, translit=Māthara, ta, மாத்தறை, translit=Māttaṟai) is a major city in Sri Lanka, on the southern coast of Southern Province. It is the second largest city in Southern Province. It is from Colombo. It is a major commercial hub, and it is the administrative capital and largest city of Matara District. Etymology Consist of two elements, the term Matara gives its meaning as ''the Great Ferry'', that may be the meaning "great seaport" or "great fortress". It is also thought as being derived from the mispronunciation of the word 'Matora' by the Portuguese who called it 'Mature' or ''Maturai'' in 1672. The native word 'Matora' might also derived from 'Maha Tera' meaning the place where the Great River was crossed. It was also called 'Maha Tota' (Malo Tota) or Maha- pattana, the great ferry.''Maha Ethara'' meaning "great ford". Today, the Nilwala River runs through Matara and it is said that there was a wide area where ferries used to c ...
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Artisan Fishing
Artisanal fishing (or traditional/subsistence fishing) consists of various small-scale, low-technology, low-capital, fishing practices undertaken by individual fishing households (as opposed to commercial fishing). Many of these households are of coastal or island ethnic groups. These households make short (rarely overnight) fishing trips close to the shore. Their produce is usually not processed and is mainly for local consumption. Artisan fishing uses traditional fishing techniques such as rod and tackle, fishing arrows and harpoons, cast nets, and small (if any) traditional fishing boats. For that reason, socio-economic status of artisanal fishing community has become an interest of the authorities in recent years. Artisan fishing may be undertaken for both commercial and subsistence reasons. It contrasts with large-scale modern commercial fishing practices in that it is often less wasteful and less stressful on fish populations than modern industrial fishing. Target 14.b o ...
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Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)
''Sunday Observer'' is a weekly English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ..., published on Sundays. The ''Sunday Observer'' and its sister newspapers the '' Daily News'', ''Dinamina'', ''Silumina'' and ''Thinakaran'' are published by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House), a government-owned corporation. The paper, which was established in the present-day format in 1928, has roots that date back to 1834 when Sri Lanka was under the British Ceylon, British rule. It is the oldest Sri Lankan newspaper in circulation apart from the ''The Sri Lanka Gazette, Government Gazette''. The current Editor is Dharisha Bastians. History Origins The British captured the coastal areas of Sri Lanka in 1796 and had consolidated their power ...
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