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Agalawatta | |
|---|---|
  Agalawatta | |
| Coordinates: 6°32′31″N80°09′26″E / 6.54194°N 80.15722°E | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Western Province |
| District | Kalutara District |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) |
| Postal Code | |
Agalawatta is a town in Kalutara District of Sri Lanka, and is an electoral division.
Agalawatta is part of the Pasdun Rata (Sinhala : පස්දුන් රට), which is also known as Pasdun Korale (Sinhala : පස්දුන් කෝරලේ) (meaning: country/county of five yojanas ), created when King Parakramabahu the Great drained the Kalu Ganga basin.
North of Agalawatta 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 Angalawatta (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 Agalawatta 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.
The constituency has been represented in Parliament by:
Meegahatenna, in the south of Agalawatta, was the site of graphite 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 Pelawatta, 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.
Dominicus Corea also known as Domingos Corea and Edirille Rala, was the son of Don Jeronimo Corea and Anna Corea. Don Jeronimo Corea was also known as Mudaliyar Vikramasinha, Commander-in-Chief of King Mayadunne's army. Jeronimo Corea was executed by King Mayadunne's son, Rajasinghe. Dominicus Corea was born in Colombo in 1565. At that time, the Portuguese had colonised Ceylon, and his parents converted to Catholicism.
Kalutara or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately 43 km (27 mi) south of the capital Colombo. The city holds a unique position for one of the four major rivers in Sri Lanka, the Kalu Ganga, which joins the sea at the centre of the city. Kaluthara is known for making rope, baskets, and other articles from the fibre of the coconut palm. The area also produces the Mangosteens, a fruit introduced from Malaysia in the 19th century.
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Ratnayake Wasala Mudiyanselage Abeyratne Ratnayaka was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Food, Co-operatives; Minister of Home Affairs in independent Ceylon and the last President of the Senate of Ceylon.
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Colombo Central electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the city of Colombo in Colombo District, Western Province. The district was one of three multi-member constituencies, with three members, the others were Balangoda and Kadugannawa. was a three-member constituency. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Colombo Central electoral district was replaced by the Colombo multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Colombo Central continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Horana electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Horana in Kalutara District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Horana electoral district was replaced by the Kalutara multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Horana continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Panadura electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Panadura in Kalutara District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Panadura electoral district was replaced by the Kalutara multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Panadura continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Kalutara electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Kalutara in Kalutara District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Kalutara electoral district was replaced by the Kalutara multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Kalutara continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Matugama electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Matugama in Kalutara District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Matugama electoral district was replaced by the Kalutara multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Matugama continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Agalawatte electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Agalawatte in Kalutara District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Agalawatte electoral district was replaced by the Kalutara multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Agalawatte continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
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Haputale electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Haputale in Badulla District, Uva Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Haputale electoral district was replaced by the Badulla multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the proportional representation system, though Badulla continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
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The Agalawatta Polling Division is a Polling Division in the Kalutara Electoral District, in the Western Province, Sri Lanka.
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