Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia (; ), population 245,974 (2012), is a large municipality in Sri Lanka, covering . It lies south of the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, and elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was f ...

area and is separated from it by the Dehiwala canal which forms the northern boundary of DMMC. Its southern limits lie in Borupana Road and the eastern boundary is Weras Ganga with its canal system and it includes some areas to its east (Pepiliyana, Gangodawila and Kohuwala). This town has experienced extensive population growth and rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in recent years. It is home to Sri Lanka's National Zoological Gardens, which remains one of Asia's largest. Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila and Colombo Airport, Ratmalana are some important landmarks in this area. Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia and

Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (), also known as Jayapura or Kotte, is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located adjacent to the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, Colombo ...

being two large suburban centres of the city 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 ...

function together as one large urban agglomeration in the Region (

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

). The overspill from the City in residential and commercial uses of land has rapidly urbanised these suburban centres. Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia and Sri Jayawardenpaura along with

form the most urbanised part of the core area of the Colombo Metropolitan Region. Dehiwala and Mount Lavinia lie along the

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

Road artery, which runs along the coast to the south of the country.

Etymology

There are many stories about the history of this area. One of those is Diya Wala which means a dip or hole filled with water. In the past this area was full of ponds and lakes; thus it became known as Diyawala (an area filled with water) and later on it became Dehiwala. Another story in regard to this name is that this area has many lime trees or a forest of lime trees and people called it Dehiwala. It is said that the king of Kotte filled all his lime requirements from this area.

History

Before colonisation of the maritime region by the Portuguese, the area covered by the present DMMC was part of the Kingdom of Kotte. It comprised a number of villages such as Pepiliyana Nedimala, Attidiya and Kalubowila, while Ratmalana and areas south of Dehiwala were together one large expanse of marshland, and scarcely populated.

Portuguese era

During the Portuguese occupation, the Kingdom of Kotte was ruled by king Don Juan Dharmapala, and it encompassed the above-mentioned villages. Early records also indicate that in the year 1510 AD the village of “Galkissa” is mentioned and named after the rocky mound (Lihiniyagala) protruding into the Bay. Fascinating tales are woven round this rock and the village “Galkissa”. The Dutch invaders called the mound “the pregnant wench”.

Dutch era

With the arrival of the Dutch in the early seventeenth century, a more organised administrative structure was in place, whereby a broad-based taxation and legal system evolved.

British era

However, it was only during British occupation (19th Century) that a Provincial administrative (Kachcheri) system and a form of Local Government developed. When the second

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of captain-majors of Portugue ...

Sir Thomas Maitland Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Maitland (10 March 1760 – 17 January 1824) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Haddington (UK Parli ...

, acquired land at "Galkissa" ( Mount Lavinia), he decided in 1806 to construct a personal residence there. Maitland fell in love with Lovina Aponsuwa, a local

mestiço ''Mestiço'' is a Portuguese term that referred to persons of mixed European and Indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Portuguese Empire. Mestiço community in Brazil In Colonial Brazil, it was initially used to refer to , persons b ...

dancer, and continued a romantic affair with her until he was recalled to England in 1811. The Governor's mansion, which he named "Mount Lavinia House" is now the

Mount Lavinia Hotel The Mount Lavinia Hotel, in Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka, is a 275-room hotel, situated at 100 Hotel Road in Mount Lavinia. It is recognised as one of the oldest and most famous hotels in the country. It has been continuously operating as a hote ...

and the village that surrounded the building has subsequently developed into a bustling area, taking its name from the Governor's mistress, Lovina. Later, the area assumed the name of Mount Lavinia alluding to the factual story of a romance between the then British Governor Thomas Maitland (1805–1812) and a dancing girl called Lovina of the area.

After Independence

Dehiwela, Mount Lavinia attained Municipal status in December 1959. Dehiwela Mount Lavinia as a Local body of 6 wards extending over a land extent of only 16.3 km² (). Due to rapid urban growth and for administrative reasons this area was extended and divided into 19 wards in 1959 and given Municipal status. Later in 1967 the municipality was increased to an area of approximately was apportioned into 29 wards, as it exists today.

Geography

As the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia area lies on the coastal plain the land is mostly flat and undulating towards the inland areas. A significant feature is the large extent of wetlands around the Weras Ganga (river) and Bolgoda Lake, the two major water bodies. The Bellanwila and Attidiya marshes are noteworthy for their biodiversity and as such are considered as an ecological protected zone. Lying in the wet zone, the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia area receives an average annual rainfall between mainly during the southwest monsoon and the intermonsoon periods. The mean average day temperature is around and the average maximum between 30.5 and 31 °C. The minimum night temperature varies from 26 °C to 27 °C.

Zones

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia is a suburb of Colombo Metropolitan Region. Its Municipality comprises the following areas. * Dehiwala *

Mount-Lavinia Mount Lavinia (, ) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka located within the administrative boundaries of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia municipal limits. The area is a mostly residential suburb, known as Colombo's beach retreat it is famed for its "Go ...

*Attidiya *

Kalubowila Kalubowila is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia (; ), population 245,974 (2012), is a large municipality in Sri Lanka, covering . It lies south of the ...

* Kohuwala *Nedimala *

Ratmalana Ratmalana is a suburb in Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. Ratmalana is situated 14.6 km south of Colombo city centre. Ratmalana Airport loca ...

Demographics

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipality area is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural city.

Places of worship

Buddhist temples

Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya is a Buddhist temple situated in Bellanwila, Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Located around 12 km south to the Colombo city, near Dehiwala - Maharagama road, the temple attracts hundreds of devotees daily and is famo ...

is a Buddhist temple situated in Bellanwila,

Colombo District Colombo District ( ''kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya''; ''Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a D ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Located around 12 km south of

, near Dehiwala–Maharagama road, the temple attracts hundreds of devotees daily and is famous for its annual

Esala Esala may refer to: Events * Esala Puja, also known as Dharma Day, one of Theravada Buddhism's most important festivals. *Kandy Esala Perahera, Sri Lankan festival. * Esala Mangallaya, Sri Lankan festival. Places * Edinburgh School of Architectu ...

Perehera festival which usually takes place in the month of August or September. One of the most venerated Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka. *Nawa Polonnaru Gal Viharaya – Kanumuldeniye Sri Dharmashoka Thero, the construction of replicas of all the statues of the Gal Viharaya, Polonnaruwa that started in 1982, has now been completed. The opening of the Samadhi Buddha statue coincides with the 2,600 Sambuddhatwa Jayanthi celebrations. Those Buddha statues are constructed at the Nawa Polonnaru Gal Viahraya, Dehiwala following the original scale of the statue at the Gal Viharaya, Polonnaruwa and were declared open by Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Hindu temples

* Sri Nandeeshwaram kovil ( ancient Lord Shiva Temple), Economic Center road, Rathmalana.( Behind the Railway Work shop ) Total distance from road to Kovil . The Ancient Temple in which the great kind of Lanka Ravana worshiped Lora Shiva, was destroyed by Dutch almost 500 years ago. The present temples was built in 1984 and is popularly known as " Gona Kovil", Gona in Sinhala means bull. The Banayan Tree ( ஆலமரம்/ නුග ගස) at the temple premises is also over 500 years. * Sithi Vinayagar kovil at Rathmalana Hindu college, Borupana Road, Rathmalana. It is about from the Galle Road. * Sri Venkateshwara Maha Vishnu Moorthy Kovil is next to Nedimala and is located in Dehiwala. * Sri Anjaneyar Kovil is located in the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia area of Colombo. It is about 30–45 minutes from the main area of Colombo. * Sri Muthumari Amman Thiru Kovil, Abeysekara Rd Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Total distance main road from to Kovil * Shiva Sakthi Karumariamman Kovil, 3rd stage, Badowita (off Abeysekera Place ) Total distance from main road to Kovil

Churches

* St. Mary's Church – On 13 September 1834, six Catholic laymen from the congregation of St. Sylvester's church, now St. Anthony's Church, Galkissa came to Dehiwala in search of a piece of land to build a church. A devout Catholic, Muhandiram B. Bastian Mendis gifted them of land. The foundation stone was laid and on 4 February 1835 the church was consecrated to Our Lady of Good Voyage, says one of the Jubilee Secretaries Nigel de Lile. * Christ Church, Galkissa – According to the historian Valentyn, the earliest reference to a church in Galkissa is in 1705 when there was a pretty good church, roofed with tiles and built upon 10 masonry and 20 stone pillars, taken from the heathen temple of Pepiliyana with a wall of clay high. With the main entrance from Galle Road, when the Rev. Felix Dias Abeysinghe was vicar, the main door of the church was opened, never to be closed again on 6 June 1959, and Christ Church, Galkissa became the “Church of the open door.”

Mosques

* Muhiyadeen Grand Jumu'ah Mosque ( Dehiwala Grand

Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

)- The largest Mosque located in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Area. * Abu Backar Dawaah center * Masjid ur rahman(Ebnezer place)

Attractions

* National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka (also called Colombo Zoo or Dehiwala Zoo) is a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

logical garden in Dehiwala,

, founded in 1936. Its sprawling areas are host to a variety of animals and birds. The zoo exhibits animals but also places an emphasis on animal conservation and welfare, and education. * Mount Lavinia Beach is Sri Lanka's main sea-bathing spot. Here, depending on season, the waves can be swimmable and it is host to some amazing sunsets. The waters are swimmable only at certain times of the year and can be very rough, with undertow. * The Sri Lanka Air Force Museum (SLAF Museum) is the museum of the

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...

, and its predecessor, the Royal Ceylon Air Force. Open to the public, the museum is at the SLAF Ratmalana and is maintained by the Sri Lanka Air Force. Notable items include the medals and sword of Air Vice Marshal E. R. Amarasekara, the first Ceylonese Commander of the Air Force. The museum also has remnants of Japanese aircraft shot down over Ceylon during World War II and artifacts from the LTTE aircraft shot down during the Suicide Air Raid on Colombo. An

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

firefighting vehicle and a

Shorland armoured car The Shorland is an armoured patrol car that was designed specifically for the Royal Ulster Constabulary by Frederick Butler. The first design meeting took place in November 1961. The third and final prototype was completed in 1964 and the fir ...

used by the Sri Lanka Air Force are exhibited as well. * Attidiya Bird Sanctuary. Just outside Colombo lie the marshy lands of Attidiya Bird Sanctuary. Bordering the famous Bellanwila Buddhist Temple, the sanctuary has rich and diverse birdlife, despite its comparatively small area. The Attidiya Bird Sanctuary is well known for its migratory and endemic water birds, but is also a great place to watch butterflies.

Government and law enforcement

Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the

Metropolitan Area, with a

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

form of government. Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia's mayor and the council members are elected through local government elections held once every five years. The city government provides sewer, road management and waste management services, water, electricity and telephone utility services. The council liaises with the road development authority, water supply and drainage board, the Ceylon electricity board and telephone service providers. There are 2 Divisional Secretaries in the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia area * Dehiwala Divisional Secretariat * Ratmalana Divisional Secretariat The

Sri Lanka Police Sri Lanka Police (; ) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the p ...

, the main law enforcement agency of the island, liaise with the municipal council, but is under the control of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

of the central government. As with most Sri Lankan cities, the magistrate court handles felony crimes, the district court handles civil cases. There are 3 police stations within the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia area * Dehiwala Police Station * Mount Lavinia Police Station * Kohuwala Police Station

Transport

Bus

Colombo has an extensive public transport system based on

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es operated by both private operators and the government-owned

Sri Lanka Transport Board The Sri Lanka Transport Board (Tamil language, Tamil: இலங்கை போக்குவரத்து சபை "Ilaṅkai pōkkuvarattu capai")(Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගමනාගමන මණ්ඩල ...

(SLTB). The primary bus terminals within the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia — Dehiwala Bus Terminal, Mount Lavinia Bus Terminal and Ratmalana Bus Terminal — handle local services.

Rail

There are three railway stations in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia: Dehiwala ( from Colombo-Fort), Mount Lavinia () and Ratmalana (). Train transport in the city is limited since most trains are meant for transport to and from Colombo rather than within the city itself and are often overcrowded. Few express trains stop at Mount Lavinia Station. Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia is situated on the Coastal Line of Sri Lanka Railways, which runs from

towards Matara.

Road

The road network in Dehiwala and Mount Lavinia consists of three classes of roads. Dehiwala and Mount Lavinia lie along the

Road artery in the West of the city, which runs along the coast to the south of the country. It is the gateway to the

Metro City from the Southern part of Sri Lanka. * A2 highway connects Colombo with

and Matara * B84 highway connects Colombo with

Horana Horana (, , ) is a town in Kalutara District, in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is on the A8 highway between Panadura and Ratnapura, away from Ratnapura and away from Panadura. Horana is connected with Colombo via B84 Colombo - Horana r ...

* Hill Street connects Dehiwala With Boralesgamuwa and Maharagama * Hospital Road connects with Nugegoda * Marine Drive

Air

Ratmalana Airport Ratmalana International Airport (; ) (officially known as Colombo International Airport, Ratmalana and locally as Ratmalana Airport) , is the secondary international airport serving the city of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. It was the co ...

is the city's airport, located south of the Colombo city centre and from Dehiwala junction. It commenced operating in 1935 and was the country's first international airport until it was replaced by Bandaranaike Airport in 1967. Ratmalana Airport now primarily services domestic flights, aviation training and international corporate flights.

Other

Other means of transport include the

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

s. These cab services are run by private companies and are metered.

Education

Education institutions in Colombo have a long history. Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia has many of the most prominent public schools in the country, some of them government-owned and others private. Certain urban schools of Sri Lanka have some religious alignment; this is partly due to the influence of the British, who established Christian missionary schools. Colombo has many International Schools that have come up in the recent years.

Schools

* S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia *Holy Family Convent, Dehiwela *Methodist College, Dehiwala *Girls High School, Mount Lavinia *Hejaaz International School, Mount Lavinia *Alethea International, Dehiwala *Presbyterian Girls School, Dehiwala *Colombo Hindu College, Ratmalana *St. Mary's College, Dehiwala *Central College, Dehiwala * Science College, Mount Lavinia *Buddhist Girls' College, Mount Lavinia *Gateway International School, Dehiwala *Lalith Athulathmudali College, Mount Lavinia *Lead The Way Girls’ International School *Mount Royal International School *Iman Academy

Higher Educational Centres

*Advanced Technological Institute, Waidya Road, Dehiwala *Vocational Training Centre, Dehiwala *

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) ( Sinhala: ජෙනරාල් ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය ''General Sir John Kotelawala'' ''Ar ...

*Technical College, Ratmalana *Civil Aviation Training Center *BCAS Mount Campus *Metropolitan College *Lanka Bible College & Seminary

Notable residents

See :People from Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia

Gallery

File:BahnhofGalkissa.jpg, Mount Lavinia Railway Station File:CoastalLineGalkissa.jpg, Coastal Line at Mount Lavinia Beach File:ZugGalkissa.jpg, Train at Mount Lavinia Beach File:BHFGalkissa.jpg, Mount Lavinia Railway Station File:BahnübergangGalkissa.jpg, Railway crossing, Galkissa File:GalkissaGalleRd.jpg, Galle Road, main road of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia File:GalkissaGalleRoad.jpg, Galle Road File:BlickBisColombo.jpg, Mount Lavinia Beach File:BlickColombo.jpg, Mount Lavinia Beach, view to Colombo File:GalkissaStrandHotel.jpg, View to Mount Lavinia Hotel