Ampara (, ) is the main town of

Ampara District Ampara District (; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Government Agent (Sri Lanka), Distric ...

, governed by an

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

. It is located in the

Eastern Province, Sri Lanka The Eastern Province ( ''Næ̆gĕnahira Paḷāta'' , ''Kiḻakku Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have ...

, about east of

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

and approximately south of

Batticaloa Batticaloa (, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu'', ; , ''Maḍakalapuwa'', ) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern Univers ...

History

This was a hunters' resting place during British colonial days (late 1890s and early 1900). During the development of the

Gal Oya The Gal Oya is a long river, in southeast Sri Lanka. It is the 16th longest river in Sri Lanka. It begins in the hills east of Badulla and flows northeast, emptying into the Indian Ocean south of Kalmunai. The river was dammed in 1948 as part ...

scheme from 1949 by the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

D. S. Senanayake, Ampara was transformed into a town. 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%.

References

Towns in Ampara District Ampara DS Division {{EasternLK-geo-stub