Founded during the British era, Ganemulla ( si, ගණේමුල්ල, ta, கணேமுல்ல) is a midsize town situated in the

Gampaha District Gampaha District ( si, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ta, கம்பஹா மாவட்டம் ''Kampahā Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level admini ...

of Sri Lanka. Ganemulla is about from

Kadawatha Kadawatha (or Kadawata) ( si, කඩවත ta, கடவத) is a large suburb of Colombo, in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated on the A1 highway, approximately away from the centre of Colombo. Industrial machines, factories, di ...

on the

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 m ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

road. The nearest city to Ganemulla is

Gampaha Gampaha (Sinhala: ගම්පහ ; Tamil: கம்பஹா ) is an urban city in Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated to the north-east of the capital Colombo. It is the sixth largest urban area in Western Province ...

, which is about away. Ganemulla is surrounded by the towns of

Ja-Ela Ja-Ela ( si, ජා-ඇල, ta, ஜா-எல) is a suburb of Colombo, located approximately north of the Colombo city centre. Ja-Ela lies on the A3 road which overlaps with the Colombo – Katunayake Expressway at the Ja-Ela Interchange. E ...

and

Kandana Kandana ( si, කඳාන, ta, கந்தானை) is a suburb of Colombo in Western Province, Sri Lanka, north of the Colombo city centre. Due to the proximity to Colombo, Negombo as well as the Bandaranaike International Airport, the subu ...

. The population in Ganemulla now exceeds 6,000 and is increasing. The majority of the population are

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 ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, with a small Catholic minority.Presidential Commission on Buddhism of 2002, whose recommendations included anti-conversion laws.
lankaliberty.com The

Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment The Commando Regiment ( si, කොමාන්ඩෝ ‍රෙජිමේන්තුව ''komāndo rejimēnthuwa''; ta, இலங்கை இராணுவத்தின் கமாண்டோ படைப்பிரிவ) is the comman ...

is based in Ganemulla.

Archaeology

An archaeologically important drainage line was discovered nearby Ganemulla railway station recently, believed to be used in the 18th century when some of the coastal areas of Sri Lanka was under the control of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

rulers. However, this has not undergone a proper excavation and is currently in poor condition due to lack of restoration.

Transport

Ganemulla is the 13th railway station from Colombo Fort on the Colombo-Polgahawele main railway line. The main bus route between Ganemulla and Kadawatha carries the number 223. Further bus routes are 218 between Kadawatha and Ganemulla, 214 between Gampaha and Ganemulla, 738 between Kossinna and Colombo Fort, and 266 and 278 both connecting Ganemulla and Ja-Ela. Routes 276 Gampaha-Kandana and 979 Gampaha-Ragama also serve Ganemulla town.

Notable Events

In the latter part of 1950s, probably in 1959, it was at Ganemulla where Ceylon Government Railways, as it was known then, had to abolish the Class System that was operating in morning and evening commuter trains. It was after a serious incident, when one morning, office bound commuters from a train decided to demonstrate their grievances against the authority for penalising the use of 2nd class carriages by several 3rd class ticket holders in an overcrowded train. Following an argument and scuffle with ticket checkers, all the passengers disembarked from the train at Ganemulla railway station, and prevented the train from proceeding its journey to Colombo. Having heard of the commotion, a Buddhist monk from a nearby temple, Venerable Daevamottawe Amarawansa Thero, came down to the station and supported the demonstrators in solidarity. Led by the monk, demonstrating commuters then blocked both railway lines preventing the passage of all trains transiting through Ganemulla railway station. By mid-day, all negotiations to clear the lines had failed, and so the authorities had to yield to the public demand, declaring that the Class System in all morning and evening commuter trains would be abolished forthwith, a ruling that has continued to this day. Almost 40-years later in 1992, in memory of this historic event, and to honour his contribution, a large statue of the late monk was erected on a platform at Ganemulla station, adjacent to the overhead steel bridge.

Schools

Ganemulla is the main town for two reputed Government Secondary Schools: Hemamali Maha Vidyalaya, Ganemulla, and Galahitiayawa Central College. The latter is one of the original Central Colleges set up by Mr C W W Kannangara, Minister of Education in the late 1940s; more recently it was upgraded to a National School status.

References

{{coord, 07, 04, 00, N, 79, 57, 00, E, regiol:LK_type:city, display=title Populated places in Gampaha District Populated places in Western Province, Sri Lanka