Largest steamer shipwreck discovered off Batticaloa

The wreck of a steamer discovered off the coast of Batticaloa has been identified by the Galle Maritime Archeology Unit (MAU) to be the largest such shipwreck discovered in Sri Lankan waters.  

Official records indicate that the wreck is that of the steamer Sir John Jackson, which was wrecked on Brennus Shoal in the Navaladi lagoon off Batticaloa on September 26, 1908, according to Galle MAU’s Rukshan Priyandana.

which was found off the coast of Batticaloa in the Nawala – adi lagoon

The unit was initially alerted to the wreck by a local diver named G. Yogaraja, he added. The steamer weighs 4231 tons and had been built in 1905 by the Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. It had been registered with the Westminister Shipping Co. Ltd in London.

According to official records, the steamer was enroute to London via Colombo from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in Vietnam, carrying a cargo of rice and wheat, when it struck the Brennus Shoal and sank.   It is believed the Captain of the vessel had made a mistake and taken the steamer too close to shore while trying to use as a guide, the lamps put up by fishermen on shore in order to make their fishing activities easier.

The vessel had five boilers and two propellers. However, one propeller had broken off when the vessel sank and was found some distance away. Maritime archaeologists said the shipwreck of another vessel was located in close proximity to the Sir John Jackson.
Over the course of time, the shipwreck had become a home for corals and many species of ornamental fish. It has been attracting local and foreign diving enthusiasts for some time and Priyandana said it has the potential to be developed as tourist attraction for divers.
The Galle Maritime Archaeology Unit has so far located 17 shipwrecks along the country’s eastern coast.

The vessel that had sunk weighed 4231 tons.

 

- See more at: http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-online/item/24945-largest-steamer-shipwreck-discovered-off-batticaloa.html#sthash.QbnFE27U.dpuf

Batticaloa District is the poorest district in the country

Batticaloa District in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka has declared 2014 as the Economic Development Year, a government minister said.

Deputy Economic Minister M.L.A.M. Hisbullah has said that Batticaloa District is the poorest district in the country and that 2014 will be the Economic Development Year in the district.

He told the media that 20 percent of the population in the district lives below the poverty line and the efforts are being focused on reducing the poverty level to 5 percent.

According to Hisbullah, 12 percent of the population in the district lived under the poverty line during the war and it has increased to 20 percent in the last five years.

According to the national poverty statistics, all the districts except Batticaloa and Ampara in the Eastern Province reported significant poverty reductions since 2006/07. However, the poverty level increased in Batticaloa district from a 10.7 percent in 2006/07 to 20.3 percent in 2009/10, the highest among all districts in the nation, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey.

The Minister said the government and the provincial authorities are working to reduce the percentage of people who live below the poverty line in the Batticaloa District.

Kaluthavalai pillaiyaar kovil song. batticaloa

Batticaloa mamangam song - Adi amavasai

Traditional Portuguese Kaffringha Dance From Eastern Sri Lanka Battica...

Traditional Portuguese Songs From Eastern Sri Lanka Batticaloa

http://www.youtube.com/v/XMg6q2G_SH4?autohide=1&version=3&attribution_tag=RcwNIIJFL8ovN0bKuZqDMA&autoplay=1&feature=share&showinfo=1&autohide=1

Batticaloa [Wikipedia Article]

Batticaloa Lagoon

This Article Batticaloa Lagoon is composed of Creative Common Content.

1. 

Batticaloa

City in Sri Lanka

Batticaloa is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial city. Wikipedia

Area: 2,854 km²

University: Eastern University of Sri Lanka

Batticaloa gets Star class hotel

Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa receiving a token at the event

The new star class hotel, Eastern Lagoon located in Sinna Uppodai, Batticaloa was declared open by Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa, last Saturday. The new 45- room hotel with facilities on par with international standards has been built in the middle of an islet in the Batticaloa lagoon and enjoys a picturesque backdrop to it.

Minister Rajapaksa said the Eastern Province is a goldmine for tourism and ideally located for tourists. Subsequent to the end of the war, tourism has begun to blossom in the Eastern Province with foreign and local tourists travelling to resorts without any restrictions or difficulties, Minister Rajapaksa said.

From Batticaloa, there are several hotels in the coastal areas of the Eastern Province and the new hotel is considered special among them, given its multiple facilities including banquet hall, swimming pool, and conference hall with modern facilities was built at Rs 350 million.

மட்டக்களப்பு கல்லடிப்பாலம் புதிதாகத் திறக்கப்பட்டது

கடைசியாக பிரசுரிக்கப்பட்டது: 22 மார்ச், 2013 - 15:47 ஜிஎம்டி

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இலங்கையில் மிகவும் நீண்ட பாலமாக ஒரு காலத்தில் திகழ்ந்த, மட்டக்களப்பு கல்லடி பாலம் புதிதாக நிர்மாணிக்கப்பட்டு, இலங்கை ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷவினால் திறந்து வைக்கப்பட்டது.

இலங்கையின் கிழக்குக் கடற்கரையோரமாக அமைந்த சாலையில் மட்டக்களப்பு நகருக்கு சிறிது தூரத்தில், மட்டக்களப்பில் இருந்து தெற்கே அம்பாறை செல்லும் வீதியில் அமைந்துள்ள இந்தப் பாலம் ஜப்பானிய அரசாங்கத்தின் நிதியுதவியுடன் புதிதாக நிர்மாணிக்கப்பட்டது.

முதலில் ஆங்கிலேயரால் நிர்மாணிக்கப்பட்ட இந்தப் பாலம், அதன் உத்தரவாத காலம் முடிந்துவிட்டதால், அதன் பின்னர் பல வருடங்கள் கடந்து இப்போது புதிதாக நிர்மாணிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மட்டக்களப்பு வாவிக்கு குறுக்காக அமைந்துள்ள இந்தப் பாலம், பாடுமீன் பாலம் என்றும் லேடி மன்னிங் பாலம் என்றும் அழைக்கப்பட்டுவந்தது.

இந்தப் பாலத்துக்கு அருகேதான் மட்டக்களப்பின் பிரபலமான ''பாடும் மீன்கள்'' குறித்தும் பலர் முன்னர் ஆய்வுகளை மேற்கொண்டிருந்தார்கள்.

An army corporal was arrested for molesting a woman in the Batticaloa night mail train yesterday

The woman had been molested in one of the empty compartments by the corporal who was on his way to a camp in Batticaloa.  His colleagues were in a different compartment.

The woman had complained to the Head guard and the Assitant Guard and when they attempted to question him,  the suspect had assaulted the Assistant guard causing injuries to him.

He has been admitted to the Ragama hospital.

source:TUESDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2012 10:44;times online ;Sunday times

Eastern Tamil people need a new democratic voice

So far so call Sri lankan Tamil political  parties (TULF ,TNA and etc ) and Tamil movements in Sri Lanka are all have northern (Jaffna)  people as leaders and TMVP and deputy minister also represent mostly government 
needs.
There is no political party to represent Eastern Tamil people in Sri lanka.