Ragama ( si, රාගම ta, ரா௧ம) is a suburb of Colombo, located in the Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by the Ja-Ela Pradeshiya Sabha.

History

In July 1874 a rail line, known as the Breakwater line, was opened connecting the Harbour Works Quarry at Ragama to the Colombo Harbour

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * Br ...

, in order to enable stone to be transported to the harbor to construct the breakwater. Stone from a second quarry at Ragama was then used to stabilise the Coastal line where it ran on the edge of the beach. On 8 January 1901 the British

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

established a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

in Ragama to house Boer prisoners captured in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

. The prisoners at Ragama were primarily

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

s, foreign volunteers and irreconcilables who refused to sign an oath of allegiance to the British Crown, and were transferred from the main camp at

Diyatalawa Diyatalawa (දියතලාව, meaning “the watered plain”) is a former garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is situated at an altitude of and has become a popular destinati ...

. Ragama served as the main observation camp for

coolies A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...

entering the country. The coolies disembarked at

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 ...

and were sent by train to Ragama, where they were detained for forty eight hours before being transported to various tea plantations around the country. In 1904 76,963 coolies from Southern India came through the camp and in 1905 this increased to 132,690.

Transport

Ragama is accessible from the A3 highway (

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...

road) and is about from Mahabage junction. Sri Lanka's second motorway flyover was built in 1996 over the main railway line right at the town centre, at a cost of Rs 200 million. Ragama is a main railway junction, where the Main line and the

Puttalam line The Puttalam line (originally called the North-Western Line) is a broad gauge railway line in the rail network of Sri Lanka. The railway line begins at Ragama junction and runs through the major towns along the north-west coast of the countr ...

diverge. The first stage of the Puttalam line from Ragama to

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. ...

was constructed in 1908 and the full length to Puttalam through Peralanda completed in May 1926.

Health

The Colombo North Teaching Hospital is located at Ragama. It is the second largest hospital in Sri Lanka, with a 1,442 bed capacity. The hospital comprises the District Hospital Kandana, the Rehabilitation Hospital, Ragama and the Nurses Training School, Kandana. It also associated with the University of Kelaniya's Faculty of Medicine and is known for having one of the most advanced diagnostic departments in the country. It also boasts the country's only Liver Transplant Unit. Other hospitals in Ragama include the National Hospital for Respiratory Diseases, the Ragama Rehabilitation Hospital, Melsta Hospital and Leesons Hospital.

Government facilities

Currently Ragama is home to several important government establishments in the country. They include: #Sri Lanka Navy (Gemunu) Brigade #Sri Lanka Navy (Mahasen) Brigade #College of Naval Architecture (attached to Sri Lanka Navy) # Mahara Prison (a maximum security prison and one of the largest prisons in the country) #Governments Ammunition Storage #Faculty of Medicine - University of kelaniya #Ayati Center #Ranawiru Sewana

Religion

# St. Lazarus' Church, Kurukulawa # Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka, Tewatte # Weluwanaramaya Temple # Ragama Dewalaya # St. Peter & Pauls' Church, Ragama # Christ the King Church, Lenchiyawatta # Christ the Healer Church, Ragammulla # Word of Power Ministries (Kingdom Centre) - branch Ragama # A.O.G Ragama # Sri Sugatharama Temple Ihalagama. (with Iahalagama Tank)

References

{{Suburbs of Colombo Suburbs of Colombo