2. Introduction to Kurunegala Area : 2.1 Location and History : Kurunegala town is the capital of Kurunegala district as well as the capital of North Western Province (Fig 2.1). It has been administered by a Municipal council from as early as 1952 and is yet the only Municipality in the province. It is located at the 98 km post along the Ambepussa - Kurunegala - Trincomalee road in the North - East direction of Colombo. Total area of the district is 4,813 sq. km and this is the third biggest district in Sri Lanka. It is connected with middle hill (Kandy.Matale) in East and low land (Puttalam,Chilaw) of above 100 ft in West. The district is situated 100ft - 500ft above sea level. However to the East of the city it is 500ft - 1000ft. Climate in this district can be classified into three zones. Western and Northern part is in dry zone. Central area is with medium weather and southern zone is with wet weather. Kurunegala had the ancient kingdoms such as Yapahuwa and Panduwasnuwara. Kurunegala is located within the "Coconut Triangle" and most of the service activities related to the coconut plantation sector are located in this town. 2.2 Regional Aspects : Kurunegala is located in North - Western Province and is predominantly an agricultural area. Coconut and paddy are the major agricultural crops. It has access to Northern, Eastern, Central and Western provinces. It is surrounded by Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Matale, Kandy, Kegalle and Gampaha districts. It has a road network connected to many parts of the country.(Fig 2.2) They are, 1. Colombo - Kurunegala - Trincomalee road 2. Kandy - Kurunegala - Puttalam Road 3. Kurunegala - Anuradhapura road (Via Ella) 4. Kurunegala - Negambo Road Kurunegala is also one of the districts benefited by the "Mahaweli Development Project"; a major multi - purpose development project under taken in the recent past. Fig 2.1 : North Western Provincial Road Map « 5 Fig 2.2 National Co - Ordinate Kurunegala Town 2.3 Urban Aspects: Kurunegala is the provincial capital of North - Western province and district capital of Kurunegala. As it is prominently situated, many district and provincial level high order activities are located within the Municipal limits. They are, (i) Chief Minister's Office. (ii) Provincial Council Offices. (iii) Provincial offices of national agencies such as Road Development Authority, National Housing Development Authority, Urban Development Authority, Sri Lanka Telecom, National Water supply and Drainage board, Irrigation Department etc. and their district offices. (iv) Teaching Hospital (v) Nurses Training School (vi) District Courts (vii) Kachcheri (viii) Regional Offices of both public & private banks and their branch offices. In addition, the town has several national level Public Schools, Technical colleges and Vocational centres which also attract a major portion of the vehicular and passenger traffic. It also has some busy commercial establishments that include national market and sales centres for reconditioned motor vehicles and farm tractors. 2.4 Demography & Land use : In 1971, the population of the Kurunegala district was 1,025,633 and in 1981 1,212,755 (Population Statistics of Sri Lanka). The growth rate was 1.8%. In 1994 the population was 1,481,702 with the growth rate of 2.2%. This was higher when compared to other districts in Sri Lanka. In 2010 it is estimated to 1,511,336. Considering the Municipal area, population in 1981 was 26,198 and estimated 30,341 in year 2001. It is estimated to increase to 33,897 in year 2010 with a natural growth rate of 0.75% per annum (Census Reports,Dept.of Census & Statistics) According to the survey done in 1997, land use pattern for the total area of 4,813sq.km in Kurunegala is as given in Table 2.1. Percentage (%) Residential Area 31.86 Commercial 4.71 Industries 1.00 Government 10.64 Organizations Roads 9.63 Entertainment 0.91 Religious 1.80 Coconut 3.34 Agriculture 0.83 Paddy 14.08 Irrigation 5.08 Forest 1.36 Rock 13.44 Others 1.32 Table 2.1 Land Useage Pattern in Kurunagela It is to be noted that 13.44% of the land in Kurunegala city is rocky and can not be developed at any time. On the other hand due to topographical reasons, 21.2% of the land of the municipality cannot be used for Urban Construction. Government institutions own further 10.64 % of lands. Although the town boundaries are not expanded administratively, its functional boundaries have grown much beyond the Municipal boundaries. 2.5 Economy & Employment: According to 1981 statistics, in Kurunegala Municipal area the number of people who were able to do employment was 10,571. Out of that 8,959 were employed and 1,612 were unemployed. Table 2.2 shows the Labour force in each Grama Niladari Division in Municipal limits. Division Employed Unemployed Gangoda 480 81 Lake 835 176 Town 717 58 Illupegedara 807 106 Madamegama 969 224 Wehera 1174 220 Udawalpola 444 102 Main Street 1167 45 Gettuwana 730 147 Polattapitiya 712 181 Ihala Theliyagonna 435 85 Pahala Theliyagonna 489 187 Total 8,959 1612 Table 2.2 Labour Force In Kurunegala Municipality In the employed population, 7,287 were males and 1,672 were females. In the unemployed population, 835 were male and 777 were females. So it is noted that high percentage of females are unemployed. High unemployment ratio was observed in Pahala theliyagonna and low unemployment ratio was observed in Main Street division. Main Street is a commercialised area and this may be the reason for low unemployment. In 1981, unemployment percentage is 10.3 and it increased to 12% in 1991. According to 1991 survey in the Municipality, 71% of the workers are in service sector. Most of the government and public institutions are in Kurunegala and this may be the reason for this high percentage. Only 1.1% is employed for industries. The utilized land for this purpose is only 0.8%. ( Kurunagela Town Development Plan 1995 - 2000, Urban Development Authority). Transport: As a result of its relatively high order services and the adequate transport linkages, nearly 60,000 people use the bus station between 6.00 am and 9.00pm daily for various reasons such as health, education and other official activities.(Final Bus Station Plan report; Asphaltin (Pvt) Ltd). Further Kurunegala district is an agricultural area and within the town we find many wholesale centres for supply and transport of goods. This emphasise the need for a good transport system to have a smooth traffic flow. Kurunegala is served by both road and rail transport. Passenger transport is pre-dominated by bus travel, which is provided both by Kurunegala depot of • Wayamba Bus Company and an equal number of private operators. Private & Kurunegala depot bus station are in close proximity in the heart of the town and use the same entrance and exit routes. Due to its strategic positioning, Kurunegala is a convenient transfer point for many long distance bus passengers too. It is a transfer point to commuters for Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Colombo, Kandy, Negombo, Kuliyapitiya and even to long distance services such as Trincomalee and Batticaloa. Kurunegala railway station is 2 km from town and it is not popular for transport services. However, express trains between Colombo - Vavuniya and Colombo - Trincomalee runs via Kurunagala. Mostly the season ticketers are using the railway service. 2.7 Traffic : Kurunegala town accommodates not only their own traffic but also those that go to the far distance places such as Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa etc. Vehicular traffic in the Kurunegala town is generated by, (i) Those who come to get the services, such as Education, Health and other Administrative functions (ii) Those who come to get banking and financing services. (iii) Those who come for trade related activities. (iv) Transfer point for passengers and goods Even though Kurunegala town has by pass roads, due to its poor condition all the long distance vehicles are passing through the Kurunegala town. All the private and public transport buses have the exit in Dambulla Road and this leads to a congestion on Dambulla Road and at the Roundabout. Similar problem observed closer to Puttalam junction due to the 'right turn' of the buses to enter the bus stand.(Fig 2.3) 10 The bus stand, which generates a large amount of traffic, is poorly accessible to buses. This results in slow movement of buses within the town. More over, pedestrian activity spills over into the roads due to the absence of sidewalks and where such sidewalks are available they are used for vehicle parking and trade-related activities. • 2.8 Critical Issues : During the technical assistance programme of the UDLfflOP in 1998, the following were identified as critical issues in Kurunegala.(Final Report Volume 1 : Appendix A - D of UDLIHP ,TA) (i) Economic Development: Kurunegala has not yet been able to fully exploit neither its rich agricultural hinterland nor its location at a critical highway junction along the main north-south corridor to develop as an agricultural processing centre. (ii) Administrative Boundary: The MC's current administrative boundary ^ contains only about one-half the total population of the entire built-up area, with the rest remaining located in the adjoining Grama Sevaka Divisions. (iii) Urban - Growth: Natural Banners to physical expansion have resulted in a linear, unbalanced pattern of growth and development along major trunk roads radiating from the town centre. (iv) Development of CBD: The concentration of economic activities around the centrally located bus station has exceeded the available space, resulting in traffic and pedestrian congestion. ^ (v) Land Use: Much of MC's high valued land located near the centre of the town is either undevelopable (Paddy land and rock outcrops) or under utilized with low-density development.