Dharga Town ( Sinhala:දර්ගා නගරය

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

: தர்கா நகரம் ) is a town located in

Kalutara District Kalutara District ( si, කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය; ta, களுத்துறை மாவட்டம் ''Kaḷuttuṟai Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative ...

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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Governed by the Beruwala Urban council under the

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...

. Dharga Town is close to

Aluthgama Aluthgama ( si, අලුත්ගම, translit=Alutgama; ta, அளுத்கமை, translit=Aḷutkamai) is a coastal town in Kalutara District in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. A ...

and the tourist town

Bentota Bentota is a coastal town in Sri Lanka, located in the Galle District of the Southern Province. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. Bentota is situated on the southern bank of the Bentota River mouth, at an elevation ...

Etymology

The name Dharga Town was derived after the Dharga of Sheik Hassan Bin Osman Magodoomy (Rali)'s shrine, which traces its origin to around 1866 AD, when he was enshrined in his home town.Online edition of Daily News – Features
/ref> The town was named Dharga Town by the Muslims in the 1940s.

History

While the first Sri Lankan Muslim settlement was considered

Beruwala Beruwala ( Sinhala:බේරුවල Tamil: பேருவளை) is a large town in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The town covers a total area of approximately and is located on the south-west ...

also known as ''Berbereen'' which was founded by Abu Yusuf al-Barbari, a

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

Traveler, the Second Muslim settlement was in the town called Dharga town which was then called as Alutgamaweedia.

Demographics

Dharga Town is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

majority town.

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

are sizable minority. There is also small numbers of

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

Education

Dharga Town has three Government Muslim Schools such as Zahira College Dharga Town (One of the oldest schools in Dharga Town), Al Hambra Maha Vidyalaya and Aluthgamveediya Muslims Ladies National School along with other Government Preliminary Schools and Private Schools. One of the Teacher-training College of the Government is also situated in Dharga Town named, Dharga Nagar National College of Education.

Government Schools

*KL-Zahira College * KL-Al Hambra Maha Vidyalaya *KL-Aluthgamveediya Muslims Ladies National School *KL-Pathirajagoda Preliminary School *Sri Gnanissara Maha Vidyalaya

Private Schools

*Alif International School *Bambridge International School

Arabic College

*Ilharul Islam Arabic College

Orphanage

*Isha Athul Islam Child Development Centre

Government Teachers-training College

*Dharga Nagar National College of Education

Population

Majority of the population are

Sri Lankan Muslim Islam is Religion in Sri Lanka, the third largest religion in Sri Lanka with about 9.7 percent of the total population. The main Muslim concentrations occur in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province. In other areas, such as in the cities ...

s, while

and

s make up the rest of 20540 (including Seenawatha 765-A and Welipitiya 768-A)

Religious places

Buddhist temples

# Kurundhuwaththa Buddhist Temple # Aluthgama Kande Viharaya (Mountain Temple) # Pathirajagoda Temple

Masjids

# Sheik Hassan Bin Osman Magdoomy (Rali) Dharga Mosque # Mohideen Jumma Masjid (Also known as the ''Grand Mosque'', ''Periya Palli'') # Meera Masjid (Also known as the ''Theruwu Palli'') # Darul Huda (Thowheed Masjid) # Mihiripenna Jummah Masjid # Welipitiya Jummah Masjid # Masjid al Noor (Marikkar Street) # Masjid al Rahman Jummah Masjid (Marikkar Street) # Siyad Marikkar Masjid (Mihiripenna road) # Masjid al Muslimeen

Sports

Soccer and cricket clubs

* Young Men's Sports Club (YMSC) (Estd. 1969) * Zaviya Sports Club (Founded 1973) *Red Star FC *Dharga Youth Sports Club *Golden Rise Sports Club *Pentagon Cricket Club *Liverpool Sports Club *Sorbus Cricket Club (1st ranked) *Royal Kings Cricket Club *Red Alert Cricket Sport Club (2nd ranked) *Dharga Town United SC *Victorians Cricket Club

Public ground

*Bakeer Markar Stadium

Infrastructure

Railway

The

Aluthgama Railway Station Aluthgama railway station ( si, අලුත්ගම දුම්රිය ස්ථානය, ta, அளுத்கமை ரயில் நிலையம்) is a railway station on the coastal railway line of Sri Lanka. It is situated be ...

is located on the Coastal Line, connecting

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

to Matara and

Beliatta Beliatta is a town located in the Hambantota District of Sri Lanka. Geography It is an inland town, approximately, from the coastal town of Tangalle. Beliatta has the second highest mountain range located in the Beliatta Divisional Secretari ...

Road

Dharga Town is served by the B157 Aluthgama – Mathugama road in Sri Lanka.

Bus

Dharga Town has an extensive public transport system based on buses operated both by private operators and the government-owned Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) along the B157 Aluthgama – Mathugama road and the closest main bus stand is Aluthgama Bus Stand situated in the A2 highway.{{Cite web, url=https://www.srilanka-places.com/places/aluthgama-bus-stand-aluthgama, title = Aluthgama Bus Stand - Bus station in Aluthgama

Auto rickshaws

Auto rickshaws also known as ''Three wheelers'' are entirely operated by individuals and hardly regulated whilst some are metered.

Private Taxi

There are many private taxi's operated by individuals which includes Van's and Car's mostly parked in the Taxi stands in the town.

References

Populated places in Kalutara District