Puttur () is a town in the north of

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 ...

. It is located approximately 12 km from

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

Etymology

The origin of the name Puttur is disputed. The suffix -ur clearly means town in Tamil, but the first part has different explanations. The most commonly accepted one is the prefix ''"puthu"'' or ''"puthiya"'', which means new in Tamil. Hence the meaning is 'new town'. Another explanation is that the prefix origins from ''"putru"'', the Tamil word for snake hole, that acquires to the agricultural fields of the town. The last explanation for the reason of the name is the argument for a derivation of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

and -ur, that gradually has changed into Puttur.

History

According to legends, the town of Puttur was established in ancient times.

Education

One of the first Sri Lankan schools providing free education was established in Puttur. Malavarayar Kandiah established the J/Sri Somaskanda College in 1931, originally a Hindu-based college in Puttur. This was during the period when fee-charging Christian schools were dominant all over Sri Lanka during the

British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

Landmarks

The Sivan Kovil, many Hindu establishments, the American mission run hospital are some of the landmarks of Puttur. Besides that, the ancient bottomless well

Nilavarai Nilavarai () is a location in the Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. It is popular for a natural underground Water well (Called Nilavari Bottomless well) where the water never gets depleted and it serves the irrigation of the neighbouring fields. There ...

near Puttur, is a regionally important tourist site. There is an area in Puttur called Vatharavaththai. To that area drinking water going from the Annachaththiram-Puttur through the pipes for (6–9 km). This water supply scheme started by former president Piremadasa in late 70's.

Culture

The annual Poongavanam festival held in friendly competition between Puttur Sivan Kovil and the neighbouring Avarangal Sivan Kovil were the climax of activities before the Sri Lankan Civil War started.

References

External links

* Towns in Jaffna District Valikamam East DS Division {{NorthernLK-geo-stub