Agalawatte
Encyclopedia
Agalawatte is a town in Kalutara District of Sri Lanka
, and is an electoral division.
s), created when King Parakramabahu the Great drained the Kalu Ganga basin.
North of Agalawatte is the 'Fa Hien Cave
', where evidence has been found dating back to 34,000 BC of Balangoda
people, hunter gatherers. The Pasdun Rata was uninhabited except for hunter gatherers until the 12th century, being largely waterlogged.
The town was originally known as Angalawatte (garden of one finger's length), and was historically not very important. The town of Pelenda nearby was the site of the capital of 'King' Veediya Bandara, who rebelled against the Portuguese in the 16th century. The town of Lathpandura was the demesne of the shrine of the God Saman
. There is a legend that the elephant
on which Veediya Bandara was riding knelt before this shrine and that he therefore gifted Lathpandura for the upkeep of the shrine.
The constituency was originally part of electoral division Matugama
until 1947. In 1960 it was itself split into the Agalawatte and Bulathsinhala electorates. It became famous as a Trotskyist fief, being lost to that party at only one election between 1947 and 1977. In this period it developed from being a road-less, school-less rural backwater into a relatively developed area.
Since 1989 it has been an electoral division of the Kalutara District, not a constituency sending a member to parliament in its own right.
mines which produced some of the highest quality graphite in the world. South of Meegahatenna is the Sinharaja
forest, the only virgin rain forest in the wet zone of Sri Lanka.
The town of Pelawatte, which lies in the electoral division, has the first bridge across the Bentota
River upriver from Beruwela on the coast, which became important after the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 made the coast road impassable.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, and is an electoral division.
History
Agalawatte is part of the Pasdun Rata or Pasyodun Korale (Country/County of five yojanaYojana
A Yojana is a Vedic measure of distance used in ancient India. The exact measurement is disputed amongst scholars with distances being given between 6 to 15 kilometers ....
s), created when King Parakramabahu the Great drained the Kalu Ganga basin.
North of Agalawatte is the 'Fa Hien Cave
Fa Hien Cave
Fa Hien Cave is a cave in the district of Kalutara, Western Province, Sri Lanka, named after the Buddhist monk Faxian . The cave is important for the Late Pleistocene human skeletal remains discovered there in the 1960s and 1980s....
', where evidence has been found dating back to 34,000 BC of Balangoda
Balangoda
Balangoda is a town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Its 143 km away from Colombo and 43 km away from Ratnapura. It is the one of biggest towns of the Ratnapura District which is one of the two districts belonging to Sabaragamuwa Province . According to the 2001 census Balangoda has a...
people, hunter gatherers. The Pasdun Rata was uninhabited except for hunter gatherers until the 12th century, being largely waterlogged.
The town was originally known as Angalawatte (garden of one finger's length), and was historically not very important. The town of Pelenda nearby was the site of the capital of 'King' Veediya Bandara, who rebelled against the Portuguese in the 16th century. The town of Lathpandura was the demesne of the shrine of the God Saman
Saman (deity)
Saman is a deity, subject to local and indigenous belief and worship in Sri Lanka. The name Saman means "the rising morning sun"...
. There is a legend that the elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
on which Veediya Bandara was riding knelt before this shrine and that he therefore gifted Lathpandura for the upkeep of the shrine.
The constituency was originally part of electoral division Matugama
Matugama
Matugama is an electorate in the Kalutara district of Sri Lanka. It is located 64 km to the south of Colombo.- History :Matugama is part of the Pasdun Korale , created when King Parakramabahu the Great drained the Kalu Ganga basin...
until 1947. In 1960 it was itself split into the Agalawatte and Bulathsinhala electorates. It became famous as a Trotskyist fief, being lost to that party at only one election between 1947 and 1977. In this period it developed from being a road-less, school-less rural backwater into a relatively developed area.
Since 1989 it has been an electoral division of the Kalutara District, not a constituency sending a member to parliament in its own right.
Members of Parliament
The constituency has been represented in Parliament by:- Sam Silva - 1947-1952
- CWW Kannangara - 1952-1956
- Anil MoonesingheAnil MoonesingheAnil Moonesinghe was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist revolutionary politician and trade unionist. He became a Member of Parliament, a Cabinet Minister, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and a Diplomat. He authored several books and edited newspapers and magazines. He was Chairperson and General Manager of...
- 1956-1967 - Dr Colvin R. de SilvaColvin R. de SilvaColvin R. de Silva was a former Cabinet Minister of Plantation Industries and Constitutional Affairs, prominent member of parliament, Trotskyist leader and lawyer in Sri Lanka. He was one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party – the first Marxist party in Sri Lanka.-Personal...
- 1967-1977
Geography
Meegahatenna, in the south of Agalawatte, was the site of graphiteGraphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
mines which produced some of the highest quality graphite in the world. South of Meegahatenna is the Sinharaja
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a national park and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO....
forest, the only virgin rain forest in the wet zone of Sri Lanka.
The town of Pelawatte, which lies in the electoral division, has the first bridge across the Bentota
Bentota
Bentota is a Sri Lankan coastal city located on the southern tip of the Galle District of the Southern Province, about south of Beruwala on the A2 highway. Its population is estimated to be between 25,000-50,000...
River upriver from Beruwela on the coast, which became important after the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 made the coast road impassable.