Hemmathagama Archives

Stories Behind Names of Places in Sri Lanka – HEMMATHAGAMA – By Dr. Nimal Sedera Source : Qld Sri Lankan Newsletter – Dæhæna – January 2023 Hemmathagama is a small town in the Sabaragamuwa province, closer to the famous town Kegalle. How the name Hemmathagama evolved is quite interesting and it is linked to a key chapter in the Mahawansa where the famous King Dutugemunu ruled the nation for several decades, after winning a major battle defeating the Indian invader Elara that ruled the nation from Anuradhapura. After winning the war, King Dutugemunu began the development work of the nation reviewing agriculture. He also concentrated on the development of Buddhism in the country. It was the time that he was building the tallest pagoda ever built in the nation, the “Ruvanveliseya”. The King extended invitation to the people to come and help building the pagoda and the people readily responded. It ...

Ballast Nedam joins NWSDB to enhance the lives of 17,000 Hemmathagama homes with clean, treated drinking water 17,000 families in Hemmathagama will have access to clean drinking water when work is completed on a new intake and water treatment facility connected to a newly laid out pipeline network. Last week, the first pipe was laid for the water treatment plant by Ballast Nedam International Projects B.V., a construction and development company from the Netherlands with a 140-year history of making life accessible for communities. In Hemmathagama, a small town near Kegalle in Sri Lanka’s Sabaragamuwa province, families from seven villages still drink untreated, raw water from the river Auphinella. Access to clean drinking water will change their lives, meaning fewer diseases among the residents and less pressure on the area’s already overstretched healthcare system. Ballast Nedam, with mother company Renaissance Construction, will handle the project from the design stage ...