Yalalevu () is a settlement in the
District of Ba in
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, bounded by the
Ba River on the east,
Namosau River on the south and the settlement and village of
Nailaga towards the north and west. Most of Yalalevu is within the
Ba town boundary and this area is known as the Yalalevu Ward for Local Government administrative purposes. The terrain is mostly flat and not more than 5 metres above sea-level, consequently the area is prone to flooding.
The soil is fertile and being of so low elevation and close to rivers, the area is safe from droughts. The land is mostly free-hold, a rarity in Fiji.
Yalalevu is mostly a residential area but there are sugar cane farms in the areas not within the town boundary, although some areas within the town boundary is also used for cane farming. There are a few light industries in the area as well. There are two schools, Arya Kanya Pathshala and Ba Muslim Primary School within the town boundary and Ba Muslim Secondary School outside the town boundary. The main highway, King's Road passes through the settlement.
A number of famous people were either born in Yalalevu or spent a significant part of their life in the settlement.
*
Ramgarib Singh and
Randhir Singh Randhir Singh may refer to:
* Randhir Singh of Kapurthala (1831–1870), ruler of the Indian princely state of Kapurthala
* Randhir Singh of Bharatpur (died 1823), ruler of the Indian princely state of Bharatpur
* Randhir Singh (Sikh) (1878–1961) ...
, responsible for the formation of the short-lived but first cane growers union in Fiji in 1919,
Indian Cane Growers Association, owned land in Yalalevu which they used for cane farming.
* The brothers
Parmanand Singh and
Chattur Singh
Chandersen Chattur Singh was an Indo-Fijian politician. He caused a major sensation in the 1937 elections when he defeated A. D. Patel, a well known lawyer and political ally of Vishnu Deo.
Early Political Activities
Chattur Singh was one of ...
also lived in Yalalevu and used it as a base to further their political aspirations.
*
Ayodhya Prasad
Ayodhya Prasad Sharma (Hindi: अयोध्या प्रसाद शर्मा, 30 April 1909 – 28 February 1972) was an Indo-Fijian farmers' leader and politician. He formed the most successful farmers' union in Fiji and forced the ...
tried to make his fortune in cane farming in Yalalevu, but soon learnt of the realities of sugar cane farming in Fiji in the 1930s. This led to his forming the Kisan Sangh.
*
Vijay R. Singh was born and grew up in Yalalevu, and attended Arya Kanya Pathshala where his teacher was
Ami Chandra
Pandit Ami Chandra Vidyalankar (1900 – 13 March 1954) was an Indo-Fijian educator, preacher, labour leader, politician and football administrator. He served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1947 and 1953.
Biography
Chandra, a g ...
, who made valuable contribution to education, sports and politics in Fiji.
* NFP Youth, and later
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
, Parliamentarian
Davendra Singh was born and bred in Yalalevu and so was USP academic
Anirudh Singh.
*
Sidiq Koya
Siddiq Moidin Koya (29 February 1924 – 25 April 1993) was a Indians in Fiji, Fijian Indian politician, Statesman and Leader of the Opposition (Fiji), Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indians in Fiji, Indo-Fij ...
's family also acquired free-hold land in Yalalevu and moved closer to town from rural Ba.
References
External links
Satellite map of Yalalevu
{{coord, 17.53416, S, 177.67815, E, type:landmark_source:enwiki, display=title
Ba Province
Populated places in Fiji