Central Province, Sri Lanka

The Central Province (Sinhalese: මධ්‍යම පළාත Madhyama Palata, Tamil: மத்திய மாகாணம் Malaiyakam Maakaanam) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. (The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils.^[2]^[3]) The Central Province is primarily in the central mountainous terrain of Sri Lanka. It is the 6th largest province by area and is home to 2.5 million people. It is bordered by North Central Province to the north, Uva Province to the east, North Western Province to the west and Sabaragamuwa Province to the south and west. The province's capital is Kandy.

The cities of Matale and Nuwara Eliya are in the Central Province. The province is famous for its production of Ceylon tea, planted by the British in the 1860s after a devastating disease killed all the coffee plantations in the province. The Central Province attracts many tourists, with hill station towns such as Gampola, Hatton and Nuwara Eliya.

History

Though three successive European powers invaded Sri Lanka during the 16th to the 19th century, the Central Province maintained its independence until the early 19th century when the British conquered Kandy. The British then established a colonial headman ranking system in 1824, which came into effect in 1832.

Colonial head mudaliyars

Sir Christofel de-Silva (1824–1842)
Don William Gunawardene De-Saram III (1842–1856)
Sir Hendrick Ekanayake (1856–1860)
Sir Alexander-James Divakara Mohotti (1860–1888)
Don Agaris Divakara Mohotti (1888–1924)

The Mudaliyar Office was abolished in 1924 and the last of the colonial headman retired from their positions and gave up the rule to the British officers in 1926. All headman positions were then passed down to the newly elected governor-general of Central Province. This was established in 1929 as a way for the British to directly rule the provinces.

The historic Matale town, Temple of the Tooth, Dambulla cave temple, Aluwihare temple and the Sigiriya rock are in the Central Province.

Geography

The province has an area of 5,674 km² and a population of 2,421,148. Major towns include Kandy (119,186), Matale (39,869), Dambulla (75,290), Gampola (26,481), Nuwara Eliya (27,449) and Hatton (16,790).

Mountain ranges

Knuckles Mountain Range, Adam's Peak and Horton Plains are UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Central Province.

Climate

The climate is cool, and many areas above 1,500 metres often have chilly nights. The western slopes are very wet, some places have almost 7,000 mm of rain per year. The eastern slopes are parts of the mid-dry zone as it is receiving rain only from North-Eastern monsoon. The temperatures range from 24°C at Kandy to just 16°C in Nuwara Eliya, which is 1,889 m above sea level. The highest mountains in Sri Lanka are in the Central Province. The terrain is mostly mountainous, with deep valleys cutting into it. The two main mountain regions are the central massif and the Knuckles range to the east of Kandy.

Demographics

The population is a mixture of Sinhalese, Tamil and the Moors. Many tea plantation workers are Indian Tamils, brought over to Sri Lanka by the British in the 19th century.

Ethnicity

Ethnic group	Population	%
Sinhala	1,584,100	65.35%
Indian Tamil	482,945	19.92%
Sri Lankan Moor	223,076	9.2%
Sri Lankan Tamil	122,438	5.05%
Burger	3,589	0.15%
other	7,818	0.32%
Total	2,423,966	100.00%

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Districts of Sri Lanka, Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka, and List of cities in Sri Lanka

Central Province is divided into three districts and 36 divisional secretariats.

Districts

Administrative Divisions of Central Province
district	Capital	Area (km²)	Population
Kandy District	Kandy	1,940	1,279,028
Matale District	Matale	1,993	441,328
Nuwara Eliya District	Nuwara Eliya	1,741	703,610

Divisional secretariats

Main article: Divisional Secretariats of Central Province, Sri Lanka

The districts of the Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'A.G.A. Divisions'. Currently, the divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary' and are known as a 'D.S. Divisions'.

There are 36 divisional secretariats in Central Province, which are listed below, by district. There are 20 in Kandy District, 11 in Matale District and 5 in Nuwara Eliya District.

Major cities

Largest cities and towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka
Rank	City	Admin. District	Pop.	Rank	City	Admin. District	Pop.
1	Kandy	Kandy	119,186	7	Nawalapitiya	Kandy	14,685
2	Dambulla	Matale	75,290	8	Talawakele	Nuwara Eliya	3,458
3	Matale	Matale	39,869	9	Harispattuwa	Kandy	1,690
4	Nuwara Eliya	Nuwara Eliya	27,449	10	Kadugannawa	Kandy	1,323
5	Gampola	Kandy	26,481	11	Sigiriya	Matale	1,068
6	Hatton	Kandy	16,790
2009 estimate^[4]

References

Maps

Searchable Map of Sri Lanka

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Central Province, Sri Lanka.

North Western Province

North Central Province

North Western Province
Sabaragamuwa Province

Eastern Province
Uva Province

Central Province

Sabaragamuwa Province

Uva Province

Topics on Central Province, Sri Lanka

History	History of Kandy History of Matale History of Nuwara Eliya Pre-kingdom Kandy Kingdom of Kandy Kandyan Treaty of 1638 Portuguese period in Ceylon Kandyan Wars Colonial Kandy Kandyan Convention Kandyan Convention Matale Rebellion South East Asia Command

Government	Central Provincial Council Provincial Governor Chief Minister General elections Electoral districts Kandy Matale Nuwara Eliya

Geography	National Parks Provincial parks Rivers Natural History

Economy	Agriculture Transportation Highways Railways Buildings and Structures Tourism

Demographics	Demographic history Religion Language demographics

Culture	Architecture Art Cinema Education Literature Music Sport Dance Cuisine Festivals

Symbols	Flag Motto Coat of arms

Communities	Districts Cities Towns

Provinces of Sri Lanka

Central

Eastern

North Central

Northern

North Western

Sabaragamuwa

Southern

Uva

Western

Coordinates: 7°20′N 80°45′E / 7.333°N 80.750°E / 7.333; 80.750

Authority control	GND: 7559365-8

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