North Western Province, Sri Lanka

(1) Kurunegala and (2) Puttalam are the two districts that make up the North Western Province.

Wayamba is divided into 2 districts:

• Kurunegala District 4,771 km² (1,842 sq mi)
• Puttalam District 2,976 km² (1,149 sq mi)

• Kurunegala (Municipal Council)

• Puttalam (Urban Council)
• Kuliyapitiya (Urban Council)
• Chilaw (Urban Council)

• Alawwa
• Anamaduwa
• Bingiriya
• Bolawatta
• Dankotuwa
• Galgamuwa
• Giriulla
• Hettipola
• Hiripitiya
• Kalpitiya
• Kumarakattuwa
• Madampe
• Maho
• Marawila
• Mawathagama
• Narammala
• Nattandiya
• Nikaweratiya
• Pannala
• Polpithigama
• Madurankuli
• Wariyapola
• Wennappuwa
• Pallama
• Polgahawela
• Udappu

North Western Province contains six villages with the same name, Galagedara.

Universities

1. Open University of Sri Lanka, regional centre of Kurunegala
2. Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Kuliyapitiya
3. Wayamba National College of Education, Bingiriya

Provincial Education- Provincial Department of Education - North Western

1. Zonal Education - Kurunegala
2. Zonal Education - Puttalam
3. Zonal Education - Kuliyapitiya
4. Zonal Education - Chilaw
5. Zonal Education - Ibbagamuwa
6. Zonal Education - Maho
7. Zonal Education - Nikaweratiya
8. Zonal Education - Giriulla

Wayamba is the location for Mawathagama and Polghawela Export Processing Zones and boasts several other industrial estates such as Dambadeniya, Makandura West, Makadura East, Pannala, Lunuwila, Heraliyawela, Dangaspitiya, Dankotuwa and Noorani.

Wayamba Province is also rich with several types of mineral deposits. These include,

• Silica Sand - The best known silica sand deposits are found in the Marawila, Madampe and Nattandiya areas of the province.
• Miocene Limestone - The largest deposits of Miocene limestone are found in the north western coastal belt near Puttalam. The limestones are used for cement manufacturing.
• Graphite (Bogala, Kahatagaha and Dodamgaslanda Graphite mines)
• Mica
• Beach mineral sands including ilmenite
• Clay

Wayamba has a highly developed agricultural economy, growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, flowering plants, spices, oil-seeds in addition to the traditional plantation crops such as Coconut, Rubber and Rice. Rich soils and varied climate give Wayamba a potential for growing of virtually any crop.

Paddy is the main agricultural crop in the province. Wayamba is the third largest paddy-producing area in Sri Lanka. There are two main cultivation seasons. The Maha Season (October–January) or the period with excessive rainfall and the Yala Season (April–August) the drier season. In Yala season, the farmers have to depend on irrigation. More recent times, the paddy farmers during the dry season have opted to cultivate export crops and subsidiary food crops that bring bigger profits.

• Coconut – The largest industry in the Wayamba Province. The extent of land under coconut is 48% of the island's area.
• Paddy
• Cereals – Kurakkan, maize, green gram, cowpea
• Root Crops – sweet potatoes, red onions
• Fruits – Pineapples, Mangoes, Papaya, Banana, Avocado
• Vegetables – Gherkin, Asparagus, and many local vegetables
• Cashew Nut is also cultivated on a large scale in the Wayamba province. Wayamba is a major Cashew exporting region in Sri Lanka. The northernmost dry region is ideally suited for Cashew cultivation.
• Fisheries Industry/ Prawn Farming - The western coast of the North Western region is endowed with rich fisheries and other aquatic resources. The major varieties found in abundance are tuna, prawns, lobsters and cuttlefish. The country's export-oriented commercial prawn farming industry is concentrated in the coastal areas of the Puttalam district.

The Wayamba province is well served by all major commercial banking and financial institutions of Sri Lanka. These include, Bank of Ceylon, Commercial Bank of Sri Lanka, Sampath Bank, National Savings Bank, Hatton National Bank, People's Bank, Seylan Bank and the Union Bank. All of these banks have an extensive coverage of their branches in the province. Three other development banks of Sri Lanka, namely The DFCC Bank, National Development Bank, Wayamba Development Bank, Ideal motors & Ideal finance also provide services to the province.

The well preserved Dutch Fort in Kalpitiya (Puttalam district) dating back to 1670 is an evidence of the Wayamba's European colonial period. The fort is complete with barracks, store houses and living quarters, Dutch colonial pillars and ancient tombstones. Kurunegala has many 19th century relics of the British colonial period including the government Agent's residence and the Rajapihilla rest house.

The people of Wayamba celebrate many traditional festivals centred on sacred shrines of diverse faith.

• All Buddhist temples celebrate the Vesak, Poson and Esela festivals commemorating the events of great importance to the Buddhists. These festivals feature colourful decorations, lanterns, illuminations and pageants where traditional dancing, drumming, costumed dignitaries and elephants are paraded. Two noteworthy colourful Buddhist processions are organised by the Wilbawa Raja Maha Viharaya (Major temple) and Athanda Raja Maha Viharaya and are paraded in the Kurunegala city.
• The St Anne's Roman Catholic church is located on a magnificent beach stretch in Talawila in the Puttalam district. The church draws thousands of pilgrims for its main festivals in March and July.
• The Munneswaram and Udappu Hindu temples are pilgrim centres of many devotees. People gather to worship deities and seek favours. The main temple of God Shiva at Munneswaram, comprises the shrines and has been built according to traditional Hindu style. Munneswaram celebrates its major festival in August where fire-walking is practiced. Udappuwa, a sea side shrine complex of three shrines, also has a colourful festival held in the month of August.
• The Ramazan, Haj and Milad-un-Nabi festivals are also celebrated by the minority Muslims of Wayamba especially at historic and famed mosques in Puttalam, Kurunegala and Chilaw. These celebrations are mainly of religious character, recitations of Koran and distribution of cooked food and sweets.

All three shrines are easily accessible from Kurunegala, - Munneswaram approximately 70 km, Udappuwa 95 km and St. Anne's about 110 km respectively.

• Coconut Research Institute, Lunuwila
• Rice Research and Development Institute, Batalagoda

• Cricket - Wayamba

• List of settlements in North Western Province (Sri Lanka)
• Provinces of Sri Lanka
• Districts of Sri Lanka

• North Western Province at Curlie
• North Western Province Postal Codes [complete list of post codes for all towns Sports

and villages of wayamba palatha]

• North-Western Provincial Council at the official website of the government of Sri-Lanka