Puttalam

Puttalam street scenery, 1984

The history of Puttalam dates back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya, nearly 2,500 years ago, when his vessel washed ashore to "Thambapani" which is located north side of Puttalam lagoon. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of the Tamil word Uppuththalam, Uppu means salt and Thalam means salt production zone, which evolved into the name Puttalam.

Under the Köppen climate classification, Pattalam has a tropical savanna climate with a short dry season from June to September and a second dry season from January to March. The wet season is mainly from October to December. Temperatures remain steady throughout the year with little variations in between.

Urban areas are dominated by Muslims. While Buddhists and Christians are significant minority with a small number of Hindu population.

The Puttalam rail line connects Puttalam to Colombo via Negombo and provides a passenger and freight service.

Puttalam has three main highways that connect it to major cities in the country, the A3 which connects Puttalam with Colombo via Negombo, the A10 which connects Puttalam with Kandy via Kurunegala and the A12 which connects Puttalam with Trincomalee via Anuradhapura.

Daily bus transport is available to the capital Colombo and other cities like Kurunegala, Kandy and Anuradhapura.

Situated at the center of the Coconut Triangle, Puttalam is the second largest Coconut producer of the country.

Puttalam is also the second largest salt producer in the country.

Puttalam hosts one of the largest cement factories in the country: Insee Cement factory.

Puttalam is also famous for prawns farming and Agriculture.

Puttalam is now the first place in Sri Lanka to host a Crab farm and hatchery run by a Singapore-based company.

Schools in Puttalam include:

• The Phoenix International School
• Ananda National College
• St. Joseph Vaz College
• Fathima Ladies College
• Ikra International School
• Puttalam Hindu Central College
• St. Andrews College
• St. Mary`s School
• Thillayadi Muslim Maha Vidhyalaya
• Zahira College
• Wattakkandal Muslim Maha Vidhyalaya

Puttalam also has an Open University.

Seguwantivu Wind Power (Private) Limited an Indian firm invests US$37 million and maintains 25 wind turbines which produce 20 MW s of electricity in Puttalam Seguwantivu region.

Norocholai Power Station is a large coal-fired power station in Norocholai, Puttalam, Sri Lanka. Construction of the facility began on 11 May 2006, and concluded with the commissioning on 22 March 2011. The first 300-megawatt phase was completed and ceremonially commissioned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 22 March 2011 at 18:27 local time, with the presence of deputy Minister of Energy Premalal Jayasekara. According to the Ceylon Electricity Board, the US$455 million first phase generates nearly 1.7 TWh of electricity annually; a very significant amount when compared to Sri Lanka's total production of 11.5 TWh in 2011. The plant is connected to the grid via 115 km (71 mi) 220-kilovolt transmission line to Veyangoda. Power station exhausts are emitted through a 150 m (492 ft) tall chimney, one of the country's tallest man-made structures. During its pre-development stages, a number of protests were launched by residents living at the project site, claiming that they were deceived by the government. Construction of the 600 MW Phase-1 and Phase-2 units were officially inaugurated by the President in March 2010.

Puttalam is well known for soccer although cricket is widely played in the country. The city is home for many soccer and cricket clubs as it has a strong sporting tradition.[3]

Volleyball is also played in the town and there are volleyball clubs as well.

• Sahan Adeesha (1994–), cricketer, was born in Puttalam
• Tariq Hisny (1990–), composer, singer, was born in Puttalam
• Abdul Baiz Kamardeen - Chairman of Puttalam Urban Council

• The Portuguese Cultural Imprint on Sri Lanka