Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of
Ampara District, governed by an
Urban Council.
It is located in the
Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of
Colombo and approximately south of
Batticaloa
Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...
.
History
This was a hunters' resting place during British colonial days (late 1890s and early 1900). During the development of the
Gal Oya scheme from 1949 by the
Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake, Ampara was transformed into a town.
Initially it was the residence for the construction workers of
Inginiyagala Dam
The Gal Oya Dam (also known as Inginiyagala Dam) is an embankment dam in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. The dam creates one of the largest reservoirs in the country, the Gal Oya Reservoir. Water from the reservoir is used primarily for irrigation ...
. Later it became the main administrative town of the Gal Oya Valley.
References
Towns in Ampara District
Ampara DS Division
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