Point Pedro is the northernmost town of the island of
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
. The agriculturally active area around Point Pedro with fertile calcic red latosols is known for its cotton production. The eastern coast of Point Pedro is a 3-mile-broad beach with huge sand dunes (regosols) up to 100 feet height, extending up to Thalayady for a length of 20 miles. The porous regosols region with a deep ground water table has a billion litres of fresh water supply which can supply the part of Jaffna. The
Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
has raised the salt content of the ground water. The sea wiped parts of the town and sea water stayed there for up to 4 feet height.
The town has been back under government control since 1995 after the
Sri Lankan ArmyThe Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became an independent republic in 1972...
recaptured it from the LTTE.
Point Pedro Harbour
It has a small harbor which is currently controlled by the Sri Lankan army so that the public is allowed with several regulations to do their day-to-day activities there.
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal ProjectSethusamudram Ship Channel Project proposes linking the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping channel through the shallow sea sometimes called Setu Samudram, and through the island chain of Adam's Bridge, also known as ram sethu. This would provide a...
will increase the productivity of the Point Pedro Harbour positively. Enlargement of the harbour will bring benefits to Sri Lanka. The strategic advantages derive from obtaining a navigable sea route close to the coast, with a reduction in travel distance of more than 350 nautical miles (650 km) (for larger ships). The project is expected to provide a boost to the economic and industrial development of coastal Tamil Nadu. The project will be of particular significance to Jaffna, Kankesanthurai, Mannar, Point Pedro and Tuticorin harbour. Tuticurin has the potential to transform itself into a nodal port. The Tamil Nadu Government has announced its proposal to develop 13 minor ports, including Ennore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thondi, Valinokam, Kolachel and Kanyakumari.
High schools
The town is famous for
Hartley CollegeHartley College is a boys' school located in the northern, coastal city of Point Pedro, Sri Lanka, which was founded in 1838. It was named after Wesleyan priest and missionary Rev. Hartley.-History:...
(boys), Velautham Maha Vidyalayam (boys), Vadamaradchy Hindu Girls College and Methodist Girls High School. The school was started by Wesleyan missionaries over 170 years ago, and has survived several cyclones and arson by anti-social elements and the military. The school has financial backing from overseas and several of its past students are now professors, doctors, engineers and scientists all over the world. In recent years both of the schools have been under restrictions placed by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA). Regular clashes occur between Sri Lankan armed forces and
collegeCollege is a term most often used today to denote degree awarding tertiary educational institution. More broadly, it can be the name of any group of colleagues, for example, an electoral college, a College of Arms or the College of Cardinals...
protestors, mainly over the high security zone.
Ancient history
The nearby
VallipuramVallipuram was an ancient capital of Northern Kingdoms of Sri Lanka. Point Pedro is the nearest town. Vallipuram is a part of Thunnalai.This place is settled by migrants from a town called Vallipuram near Namakkal which is near Coimbatore. Naga names are found in India. Nagpur, Nagar Kovil,...
(Sandy City) Temple was a complex of Hindu-Buddhist temples on '
Angkor WatAngkor Wat , is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu,...
' model and was a visiting place for Chinese and Indonesian vessels. See
VallipuramVallipuram was an ancient capital of Northern Kingdoms of Sri Lanka. Point Pedro is the nearest town. Vallipuram is a part of Thunnalai.This place is settled by migrants from a town called Vallipuram near Namakkal which is near Coimbatore. Naga names are found in India. Nagpur, Nagar Kovil,...
for further information.
Portuguese history
There are several Catholic churches built around Point Pedro along the coasts and in Nelliady.
Sacred Heart CollegeThere are a number of colleges with the name Sacred Heart:-Australia:*Sacred Heart College Kyneton, a Catholic co-ed Secondary School run by the Sisters of Mercy*Sacred Heart College Geelong, a Catholic school for girls in Victoria...
is a major Catholic high school situated in Nelliady. The name
PedroPedro or the archaic Pêro is a masculine given name. It is a Portuguese and Spanish form of the name Peter, which is derived, via Latin "petra", from the Greek word "petros" meaning "stone, rock"...
came from Portuguese.
Dutch history
Major Dutch developments came with Father Phillipus
BaldeusFather Philippus Baldeus was a Dutch priest. He went to Jaffna, Ceylon with an invading Dutch force during 17th Century. He documented the life and culture of Tamil people who lived in Jaffna at that time....
. His records and his book on Jaffna were published in Netherlands in Dutch and later in Germany in German. There is a stone inscription written about the Baldeus and his Bible teaching under the Tamarind tree (which was uprooted by the 1962 cyclone in the Point Pedro Market).
British history
Major English developments came here with establishing missionary schools like
Hartley CollegeHartley College is a boys' school located in the northern, coastal city of Point Pedro, Sri Lanka, which was founded in 1838. It was named after Wesleyan priest and missionary Rev. Hartley.-History:...
and Methodist Girls High School by the Wesleyan Missionaries.
There are several American Mission schools at Uduppiddy and
ThunnalaiThe village of Thunnalai is near the lagoon called Thondaman Aru. It is also in close proximity to Point Pedro and Vallipuram. The mouth of the lagoon has the famous Skanda temple, Selva Sannithy, which has a spiritual connection with Kataragama Temple in Sri Lanka. The lagoon is deep enough for...
.
External links