Point Pedro

Point Pedro

பருத்தித்துறை
පේදුරු තුඩුව
Point Pedro பருத்தித்துறை; පේදුරු තුඩුව
Town
	Sandika Amman Parameswari Temple, Point Pedro
	Point Pedro
	Coordinates: 9°49′0″N 80°14′0″E / 9.81667°N 80.23333°E
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Northern
District	Jaffna
DS Division	Vadamarachchi North
Government
• Type	Urban Council
• Chairman	Sabanayagam Raveenthiran (TNA)
Area
• Total	11.65 km2 (4.50 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	31,351
• Density	1,044/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone)

Point Pedro, also known as Paruthithurai (Tamil: பருத்தித்துறை, romanized: Paruttittuṟai; Sinhala: පේදුරු තුඩුව, romanized: Pēduru Tuḍuva) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, at the northernmost point of the island.

Cotton is produced around Point Pedro in the fertile calcic red latosol soils. The eastern coast of Point Pedro forms a 3 mile wide, 20 mile long beach with sand dunes up to 100 feet high, extending to Thalayady. The porous soil has a water table deep underground with an estimated one billion litres of fresh water. The Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 raised the salt content of the ground water. The tsunami destroyed parts of the town and submerged some parts with seawater up to 4 feet deep.

The town came briefly under the control of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) during the early 1990s, until the Sri Lankan Army recaptured it in 1995.

Etymology

The place name of Point Pedro is a corruption of the Portuguese "Ponta das Pedras" meaning "the rocky cape".^[1] The name of the town in Tamil is Paruthithurai, which literally mean "Cotton Harbour". The harbor exported cotton to South India for centuries.^[2]

History

Ancient history

Vallipuram, a village nearby was an ancient settlement with rich archeological remains.^[3] During pre-colonial and colonial times Point Pedro was a trading port. There is a large number of people in and around Point Pedro who trace their families to local traders, called Sambangarar, 'சம்பாங்காரர்' in Tamil, meaning 'ship people'.

Portuguese history

There are several Catholic churches built around Point Pedro along the coasts and in Nelliady. Sacred Heart College is a major Catholic high school situated in Nelliady.

Dutch colonial history

In the 17th century Philippus Baldaeus, a Christian missionary from the Netherlands, settled in Jaffna following the Dutch occupation of Ceylon. He documented the lives and customs of the Tamil people of Northern Ceylon. His studies were published in the Netherlands and later in Germany. In Point Pedro's market there is a stone inscription commemorating Baldeus giving lessons from the Bible under a tamarind tree. The tree was uprooted by a cyclone in 1962.

British colonial legacy

Wesleyan missionaries from Great Britain established schools in the area including Hartley College and the Methodist Girls High School.

There are American mission schools at Uduppiddy and Thunnalai.

Heritage sites

Heritage sites in Point Pedro include the lighthouse, the Vallipuram temple and St. Lourdes church of Thumpalai.

Harbour

Point Pedro has a small harbour, which is controlled by the Sri Lankan army. If the much-delayed and frequently re-planned Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project is completed, deepening the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka to allow larger ships to pass, rather than having to travel 650 km (350 nmi) around Sri Lanka, then Point Pedro and other ports in the Jaffna peninsula may see a significant increase in maritime trade, especially with India.

Education

Schools in the town include Hartley College, Velautham Maha Vidyalayam, Vadamarachchi Hindu Girls' College and Methodist Girls High School.

References

^ Tennent, Sir James Emerson (1860). Ceylon: An Account of the Island, Physical, Historical, and Topographical, with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions. Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts. pp. 535. point pedro.
^ Sivasubramaniam, K. (2009). Fisheries in Sri Lanka: anthropological and biological aspects. Kumaran Book House. p. 261. ISBN 9789556591460.
^ Journal of the Institute of Asian Studies. Institute of Asian Studies. 1994. p. 118.

External links

9°49′N 80°14′E / 9.817°N 80.233°E / 9.817; 80.233

[1] Tennent, Sir James Emerson (1860). Ceylon: An Account of the Island, Physical, Historical, and Topographical, with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions. Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts. pp. 535. point pedro.

[2] Sivasubramaniam, K. (2009). Fisheries in Sri Lanka: anthropological and biological aspects. Kumaran Book House. p. 261. ISBN 9789556591460.

[3] Journal of the Institute of Asian Studies. Institute of Asian Studies. 1994. p. 118.

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[2]

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v t e Geography of Sri Lanka
Climate	Climate Climatic regions Dry Zone Wet Zone Natural disasters
Geology	Indian plate Gems Central Highlands Hanthana Mountain Range Knuckles Mountain Range
Extreme points	Highest North South East West
Landforms	Beaches Islands Lagoons Lakes Mountains Rivers Valleys Waterfalls
Bordering entities	Adam's Bridge Bay of Bengal Gulf of Mannar India Indian Ocean Palk Bay Palk Strait
Subdivisions	Provinces Districts Divisional Secretariats Divisions Grama Niladhari Divisions
Settlements	Cities Towns Settlements in Central Province Eastern Province North Central Province Northern Province North Western Province Sabaragamuwa Southern Province Uva Western Province
Environment	Forestry environmental issues deforestation ecoregions Deccan thorn scrub forests dry-zone dry evergreen forests lowland rain forests montane rain forests Southwestern Sri Lanka rivers and streams protected areas national parks wildlife sanctuaries wildlife fauna flora

v t e Metropolitan cities of Sri Lanka
National capitals^#	Colombo^* (Commercial) Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Administrative)
Municipal councils	Kandy^* Anuradhapura^* Galle^* Jaffna^* Ratnapura^* Badulla^* Kurunegala^* Kaduwela Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Moratuwa Negombo Kalmunai Batticaloa Matara Gampaha Matale Akkaraipattu Bandarawela Nuwara Eliya Dambulla Hambantota
Urban councils	Trincomalee^* Ambalangoda Ampara Balangoda Beruwala Boralesgamuwa Chavakachcheri Chilaw Embilipitiya Eravur Gampola Haputale Hatton-Dickoya Hikkaduwa Horana Ja-Ela Kadugannawa Kalutara Kattankudy Katunayake Seeduwa Kegalle Kesbewa Kinniya Kolonnawa Kuliyapitiya Maharagama Mannar Minuwangoda Nawalapitiya Panadura Peliyagoda Point Pedro Puttalam Seethawakapura Talawakelle-Lindula Tangalle Valvettithurai Vavuniya Wattala Wattegama Weligama
Note: ^* also a Provincial capital, ^# also a Municipal council

v t e Ports and harbours of Sri Lanka
Transportation in Sri Lanka
West Coast	Colombo Harbour Beruwala Harbour
South Coast	Port of Hambantota Port of Galle
East Coast	Trincomalee Harbour Oluvil Harbour
North Coast	Port of Point Pedro Kankesanthurai Harbour
Ancient ports	Port of Jambukola Port of Mahatittha Port of Mathoddam Port of Urkavalthurai
Under construction