Pallai (Tamil: பளை, Sinhala: පල්ලෙයි), also spelt Palai, is a small town in the Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka.[1] The town is located under the division of the Pachilaipally Divisional Secretary and is administered by the Pachilaipally Pradeshiya Sabha.

Pallai
பளை
පල්ලෙයි
Village
Pallai is located in Sri Lanka
Pallai
Pallai
Coordinates: 09°36′00″N 80°19′00″E / 9.60000°N 80.31667°E / 9.60000; 80.31667
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceNorthern Province
DistrictKilinochchi
Divisional SecretariatPachchilaipalli
Elevation
11.0 m (36.1 ft)
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone)
Postal Code
42550

It is located near the coast on the northern peninsula,[2] approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east of Jaffna.

In 1861 the Church Mission Society sent Rev. John Backus to Pallai to establish a Christian community in the town. This led to the construction and dedication of St. Andrew's Church on 30 November 1895.

In 1921 the government declared a 4.25 square kilometres (2 sq mi) area adjacent to the town as a forest reserve.[3]

Transport edit

 
The railway station in December 2019.

Pallai is located on the (A9) Kandy-Jaffna Highway.

It is served by a railway station on the national network which was out of use due to war damage. In 2009, agreements were made to restore the line back into service. The railway resumed operation on 4 March 2014.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Grama Niladhari Division - Pachchilaipalli". District Secretariat - Kilinochchi. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  2. ^ "New schools for children in northern Sri Lanka" Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Australian Government AID. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Pallai - Reserved Forest". Protected Planet. Retrieved 21 February 2020.