| Puttalam පුට්ටලම් புத்தளம் |
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Puttalam
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| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | North Western |
| Time zone | Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+05:30) |
Puttalam is the capital city of the Puttalam District in North Western Province, Sri Lanka.
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The history of this dry zone dates back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya, nearly 2500 years ago, when his vessel washed ashore. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of the Tamil word Uppuththalam. Of which Uppu means salt, and Thalam means salt production zone, thus evolved into the name Puttalam. Ibn Batuta, a traveling Moroccan historian of note describes Puttalam as one of two capitals of the Jaffna kingdom in 1344: the other in Nallur in the north. This was the case during the pearling season.[1][2]
Situated at the center of the Coconut Triangle, Puttalam is the second largest Coconut producer of the country, while also being the center of salt production. The Kaffir community in this area were brought to the island by the Portuguese from African villages. The Kaffir slaves settled here and their descendants speak Portuguese Creole.
According studies performed by Ceylon Electricity Board and NREL, Puttalam experiences suffiecient wind resource for the construction of commercial wind farms, similar resources to that of Ambewela. Although, just like Ambewela, significant obstacles are in the path of such developments. The area is also home to the Norocholai Coal Power Station, the largest operational power station in Sri Lanka. Among other developments of Power, two Wind Power has been set in Puttalam and Mampuri.
Zonal Education - Puttalam
Sri Lanka Telecom , Lankabell , Suntel , Mobitel, Dialog, Etisalat, Airtel and Hutch are the major providers of telecommunication services. Internet services are also provided by the above companies.
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