Point Pedro, the northern tip
The topmost tip of Sri Lanka is
where Point Pedro is comfortably placed. Point Pedro is the northernmost
town of the island of Sri Lanka. The area is agriculturally fertile with
calcic red latosols and it is popularly known for its cotton production.
The beach has some of Sri Lanka’s softest sand but be careful you don’t
step on the villagers drying their fish on straw mats in the sun.
  The eastern coast of Point Pedro is a three-mile long beach with huge
sand dunes (regosols or red soil) that go up to 100 feet in height,
extending up to Thalayady upto a stretch of 20 miles. The porous
regosols region with a deep ground water table has a billion litres of
fresh water supply which can supply a part of Jaffna. The Boxing Day
Tsunami of 2004 had raised the salt content of the ground water and the
sea wiped sections of the town and the water had stayed there for up to
four feet in length. Sadly, she lost many of its inhabitants where
several tsunami gravestones now lie. Some have been pulled out to make
room for development and a new pier.
The name of the town in Tamil is ‘Paruthithurai’, and has been in use
from time immemorial as it translates to ‘Cotton Harbour’. The origins
of this name can be found in the ancient practice of exporting
especially cotton to various South Indian cities.
The Western name, Point Pedro, was given by the Dutch during the
colonial era. A Dutch sailor, Pedro, when travelling along the coast of
the country found this town to be the northernmost point and this gave
rise to the name, Point Pedro.
There is a small harbour which is currently controlled by the Army so
that the public is allowed with several regulations to do their
day-to-day activities there. The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project
will increase the productivity of the Point Pedro harbour positively and
the expansion of the harbour will bring benefits to Sri Lanka.
However, the Point Pedro lighthouse is now flanked by a large
communication tower so it will be a matter of time when she gets a even
greater lighthouse in full glory. |
