CEYLON.

Situation and Area.

Ceylon, the ancient Taprobane, is an island in the Indian Ocean, off the southern extremity of Hindustan, lying between 5° 55′ and 9° 50′ N. lat. and 79° 42′ and 81° 53′ E. long.; its extreme length from north to south, i.e., from Point Palmyra to Dondra Head, is 270 miles; its greatest width 140 miles, from Colombo on the west coast to Sangamankanda on the east. Its area is 25,332 square miles, or about equal to Holland and Belgium.

The Maldive Archipelago, 400 miles south-west of Ceylon, made up of 18 groups-known as atolls-or islets, but for centuries past arranged for administrative purposes in 13 groups, which are sparsely inhabited by a mixed race of probably Aryan original stock, speaking a dialect akin to Elu, or old Sinhalese, is tributary to Ceylon, to which the Sultan sends an embassy annually. The inhabitants of the Archipelago have for nearly eight centuries professed the Mohammedan religion. The islands are covered with coconut palms and yield millet, fruit, and coconut produce. Communication is mainly by native craft with India and Ceylon. The population enumerated at the census 1931 was 79,281, including 245 Borahs, 92 Malayalees, 64 Ceylon Moors, 2 Ceylon Tamils, and 2 Sinhalese who were at Malé; the principal occupations are fishing, coir and lace making, toddy drawing, carpentry, and cultivation. Malé, the residence of the Sultan and the capital of the Islands, is a little over 3 miles in circumference.

The Laccadive Islands are under the adminis. tration of the Government of India.

Climate.

For a tropical country, the climate of Ceylon is generally comparatively healthy; the heat in the plains is much less oppressive than in India.

In the low-country the annual mean temperature is about 80°F. to 82°F. At higher altitudes it falls off, at a fairly steady rate, about 1°F. for each 300 feet rise in altitude. At Kandy, 1,650 feet above sea-level, it is 77°F., at Diyatalawa, 4,100 feet, it is 68°F., and at Nuwara Eliya, the chief hill-station in the Island, 6,200 feet, it is 59°F.

A noteworthy feature everywhere in Ceylon is the! smallness of the variation in the mean monthly temperatures throughout the year. At Colombo the mean temperature during the coolest months, November to February, is 79°F., which is only 3° cooler than that during the warmest months, April and May. At Galle the mean annual range of temperature is similar in amount. In the north and east this range is only a little higher; for example, at Trincomalee, the temperature during the coolest months, December and January, is 78°F., and during the warmest, May to July, is 85°F.

This uniformity of temperature is not, however, accompanied by a similar uniformity in climatic

The daily variation of temperature, the rise to a maximum in the middle of the day and the fall to a minimum at night, is well marked in Ceylon. Its magnitude is very much affected by the direction of the prevailing wind. In the south-west of the Island the range is low during the south-west monsoon, and high during the north-east monsoon and intermonsoon periods, while in the east and northeast the diurnal range is lowest during the north-east monsoon. At Colombo the mean diurnal range varies from 8°F. between June and September to 15°F. in February, with a yearly mean range of 11°F., while at Trincomalee, although the yearly mean is the same, 11°F., the lowest mean diurnal range is 6°F., in December and January, and the highest 15°F., in August and September. Inland the mean diurnal range averages about 15°F.

During the "cool" season, which may be taken as roughly November or December to February, the nights, even in the low-country, are frequently cool, particularly in the south-west of the Island. The temperature occasionally falls below 65°F., or even 60°F., in the low-country, while the minimum temperature at Nuwara Eliya sometimes falls below freezing point. At such times the days are bright and sunny, while the air is dry, so that the day temperatures are as high as, or even higher than at other seasons of the year.

The highest temperatures are experienced in the districts to the north or north-east of the hills, but a temperature of 100°F. is rarely experienced. The highest recorded air temperature in Ceylon was 103-7°F., at Trincomalee.

The relative humidity varies generally from about 70 per cent. during the day to about 90 per cent. at night, rising as the temperature falls. Owing to the high average temperature in the low-country, the absolute humidity there is high.

The annual average rainfall varies from below 40 inches in the driest zones, in the north-west and

south-east of the Island, to over 200 inches at certain places on the south-western slopes of the hills. The chief rainy seasons extend from April to June and from October to January, but as there is a sharp contrast between the windward and leeward sides of the Island during both monsoons, particularly the south-west, it is difficult to summarise the rainfall as a whole in a brief note.

History.

The authentic history of the island begins at the sixth century B.U., when an Aryan invasion from the north of India established the Sinhalese dynasty. Buddhism was introduced in the third century B.C., and from that time this faith has been preserved in comparative purity. The island abounds in interesting relics of antiquity, and in rock inscriptions, which, with the written annals left by the Sinhalese kings, are of peculiar value in revising Indian chronology.

In the sixteenth century the Portuguese formed settlements on the west and south of the island; in the next century they were dispossessed by the In 1796 the British took possession of the

Dutch.

Dutch settlements in the island, which were then annexed to the Presidency of Madras, but five years later, in 1802, Ceylon was constituted separate Colony. In 1815 war was declared against the Sinhalese Government of the interior; the last Kandyan King was taken prisoner, and the whole island came under the rule of the British.

Constitution.

The Government is administered by a Governor, aided by a State Council consisting of 50 members elected for territorial constituencies, 3 ex-officio members (the Chief Secretary, Legal Secretary, and Financial Secretary) called Officers of State, and 8 members nominated by the Governor. The State Council concerns itself with administration as well as with legislation. The Council is divided into 7 Executive Committees in charge of various groups of public affairs.

The Departments of Government are divided into ten groups. Three of these groups are in charge of the Chief Secretary, the Legal Secretary, and the Financial Secretary. The remaining seven groups are in charge of Members of the State Council who are elected as Chairmen of the various Executive Committees, and who are styled Ministers. The Ministers with the Officers of State form the Board of Ministers.

All Ceylonese, both male and female, of a minimum age of 21, are included in the franchise. British subjects not domiciled in Ceylon are allowed to qualify for the franchise in accordance with the hitherto existing Constitution, or on their furnishing satisfactory evidence of five years' residence and a declaration of permanent settlement in the Island.

The population of the principal towns, exclusive of the Military and the Shipping, was as follows: Colombo, 284,155; Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, 34,288 Negombo, 25,291; Moratuwa, 32,409; Kalutara, 14,280; Kandy, 37,147; Jaffna, 45,708; Galle, 38,424; Matara, 18,893; Batticaloa, 11,585; Trincomalee, 10,160; Kurunegala, 10,467; Badulla, 9,849.

The number of Indian labourers on estates was about 677,900. They are under no indentures, and are free to quit on giving a month's notice.

The entire area of the Island is 25,332 square miles. About one quarter of this area, after deducting backwaters, etc., is under cultivation. Some 4,000 square miles in the centre form the mountain zone with an altitude of from 1,500 to 8,262 feet above sea level. The approximate acreages under the most important products are:ByMiscellaneous are meant persons enumerated in the Great and Little Basses.

At the end of 1937 the number of plumbago mines reported to be working was 229. The amount of plumbago exported during the year was 347,613 cwts., valued at rs. 2,300,545.

The minimum upset price of Crown land is rs. 16 to 20 per acre. 4,073 acres were granted and sold by the Revenue Officers in 1937.

The revenue is principally derived from Customs Duties, Land Sales, Licences (under which head is entered the amount realised by the sale of Arrack and Toddy Rents), Salt (which is a Government monopoly), Income Tax, Stamps, and Postal Receipts. The revenue from the sale of salt for the financial year 1936-37 was rs. 2,188,895. This is local salt worked by the Government, but the importation of foreign salt is allowed on an import duty of rs. 4 per cwt.

The local revenues raised by the Municipalities of Colombo, Kandy and Galle, by the Provincial and District Road Committees, by the Urban District Councils which have been established in the towns of Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia, Kolonnawa, Kotte, Moratuwa, Negombo; Beruwala, Kalutara, PanaGampola, Hatton-Dikoya, Nawalapitiya; Matale; Nuwara Eliya; Ambalangoda; Matara,

dure;

Weligama; Jaffna ; Batticaloa; Trincomalee;

Kurunegala; Puttalam; Chilaw; Anuradhapura ; Badulla, Bandarawela; Ratnapura; Kegalla; and the Local Board of Minuwangoda; and by Village Committees amounted in 1937 to rs. 12,668,042. The revenue collected by the Sanitary Boards amounted to rs. 696,792.

The municipal debt outstanding on 31st Dec., 1937, was rs. 11,322,852. Of this amount rs. 8,407,145 is the balance of the loan borrowed from the Government for the Colombo Drainage Works, and rs. 2,277,746 for Water Works. Rs. 409,350 is the balance of loans obtained by the municipality of Galle for the construction of water. works and electric lighting, and rs. 228,611 is the balance of the loans borrowed by the municipality of Kandy for model dwellings, water supply and paving Meda Ela.

The development of the tea industry is shown by the following statistics :-Export, 1884, 2,392,963 lbs.; 1900, 149.264,602 lbs.; 1934, 218,694,956 lbs. ; 1935, 212,153,102 lbs.; 1936, 218,149,441 lbs. ; 1937, 213,732,751 lbs.

There has been a remarkable development in rubber cultivation in recent years. Rubber was first brought to Ceylon in 1876, and its growth proved successful. In 1898, 750 acres were estimated to be planted with rubber, in 1906, 100,000 acres and in 1937 about 605,152 acres.

The value of the products of the coconut palm exported in 1937 was rs. 48,461,936. During the past few years greater attention has been given to the cultivation of coconuts, and large areas of land formerly occupied with cinnamon are planted in this crop. The value of cacao exported in 1937 was rs. 2,622,619 and of cinnamon rs. 2,055,627.

now

The chief imports are rice from British India (including Burma), valued at rs. 45,001,572, and from other countries valued at rs. 5,724,661, coal valued at rs. 7,582,089, chiefly from British India

and British South Africa, and textiles valued at rs. 27,930,707, chiefly from Japan, United Kingdom, and British India.

Law and Justice.

The basis of the law is the Roman-Dutch law, much modified by the introduction of English law and by local ordinances. Kandyan law and Muslim law also prevail among Kandyans and Muslims respectively. The criminal law has been codified on the model of the Indian Penal Code, and the law of Criminal and Civil procedure and of evidence has also been codified.

cases.

Justice is administered by the Supreme Court, which has an original criminal jurisdiction and decides appeals from the inferior Courts both in civil and criminal cases; by the Magistrates' Courts and Courts of Requests, which dispose, respectively, of minor criminal and civil suits; and by the District Courts, which have a criminal jurisdiction intermediate between that of the Supreme Court and the Magistrates' Courts, and a civil jurisdiction in all In addition to these there are the Village Committees, and Village Tribunals, instituted under the Ordinance No. 9 of 1924, and Village Committees under Ordinance No. 45 of 1917, with powers to deal with petty offences and trifling claims. They have worked well and are thoroughly adapted to the genius of the people. Besides settling a considerable amount of litigation, they have provided a valuable machinery for carrying out local improvements. They are empowered to make rules, subject to the approval of the Governor, relating to their village economy, and it is noticeable that in many instances they have not only voluntarily provided school buildings and undertaken the cost of the current expenses and repairs, but have made elementary education compulsory.

Education.

Satisfactory progress is being made in education. The number of scholars in Government schools at the end of 1937 was 256,780, in assisted schools 479,853, and in unaided schools 47,272.

The total expenditure on account of the Education Department in 1936-37 was rs. 20,414,446. In 1868, the number of scholars was only 6,897, and the expenditure rs. 161,660. The improvement is due to the institution of a Department of Education and the adoption of a system under which the educational wants of the Island are met partly by Government, partly by schools receiving grants in aid from Government. The Government schools are all unsectarian, and no fee is charged for vernacular education; fees are charged for English teaching.

The only Secondary School entirely supported by Government is the Royal College, but there are numerous and excellent Grant-in-aid Secondary Schools. Four Government scholarships, each of 3001. per annum, tenable for two years with outfit allowances of rs. 750 each and free passages, are awarded annually, on the results of the B.A. honours and B.Sc. Special Examinations of the University of London to enable the best students of the year to proceed to universities in the United Kingdom for further study.

Industrial education is provided in 88 Government and Grant-in-aid Schools and in a number of Orphanages. A central Technical College was founded in Colombo in 1893; its title has since been changed to "Ceylon Technical College."

A University College opened in Colombo in 1921, offers instruction in the following subjects :-English Language and Literature, Classics and Philosophy, Sanskrit and Pali, Tamil, Sinhalese, Modern History and Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry,

Botany, Zoology, Geography. Students are presented for the External Examinations, Pass and Honours of the University of London.

A Government Training College for Masters and Mistresses in English Schools and Government Vernacular Schools was opened in 1903.

Medical Institutions.

Medical College.-The Ceylon Medical College was founded in 1870 to provide a course of Medical training for the Ceylonese. The curriculum is a full five years' course, and since 1887 the Licence of the College has been recognised by the General Medical Council as a registrable Colonial qualification. The courses of instruction and examinations are also

recognised by many of the British Examining Boards. The licence has been conferred upon 631 candidates since the College was opened; of recent years about 25 qualify annually.

There is a Junior or Apothecary Department in which students go through a two years' course, and after passing the prescribed examinations are qualified to serve as Apothecaries and Estate Dispensers.

The College has a staff of 5 Professors and over 30 lecturers and is managed by a Council incorporated by law. There are at present about 125 students.

Owing to changes introduced by the Medical Council of Great Britain, the preliminary subjects, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, are now pre-medical subjects, and arrangements have been made for these to be studied at the University College. Students must pass an examination in these subjects before they can be admitted to the Medical College for their purely medical studies.

The Medical College fees amounted to rs. 55,582-63 in 1936-37.

There are 92 Government general hospitals providing 7,927 beds, with varying accommodation from 8 beds in smaller outstations to 935 beds in the General Hospital, Colombo.

There are in addition a number of special hospitals, viz., a lying-in home with 130 beds, an eye hospital with 127 beds, a women's hospital with 46 beds, a children's hospital with 96 beds, a women's venereal hospital with 29 beds, a police hospital with 36 beds, a tuberculosis hospital for chronic cases with 352 beds, two tuberculosis sanatoria with 108 beds, an infectious diseases hospital with 168 beds, a hospital for chronic and convalescents with 68 beds, a lunatic asylum and House of Observation with 1,930 beds, a prison hospital, Colombo, with 192 beds, and 8 other prison hospitals providing 149 beds, two leper asylums, one with 508 beds at Hendala (near Colombo), and the other with 180 beds at Mantivu, Eastern Province. Ninety-two estate hospitals and 723 estate dispensaries are maintained by proprietors of estates.

There were 688 Government dispensaries in different parts of the Island in 1937, and 5,895,649 patients who paid 8,872,871 visits were treated at these dispensaries.

There is a bacteriological, a pasteur, a dental, an anti-tuberculosis Institute, an ear, nose and throat clinic and a vaccine establishment. A division of sanitary engineering and a division of health educa tion are functioning. Campaigns are carried on against malaria, ankylostomiasis, smallpox, filariasis and parangi. Estate sanitation is looked after by five inspecting medical officers. Eleven health units have been established since 1926 and health work on intensive lines is carried on at those centres. By the reorganization in 1933, school hygiene work is now carried out by 8 school medical officers, 24 medical officers of health, 20 district medical officers, 28 field medical officers, and 1 lady medical officer.

A scheme for malaria control and health work has been organised, by which Medical Officers, each of whom will be placed in charge of an area comprising a population of about 40,000, will carry out work embracing anti-malaria work, maternity and child welfare work, school health work, mass hookworm treatment, supervision of dispensers, holding of special clinics, control of communicable diseases, health propaganda and general sanitary work.

In the Department of Medical and Sanitary Services are 320 medical officers, of whom 248 possess British qualifications, 23 medical officers of health, 420 apothecaries, and 257 sanitary assistants. There are three institutions where nurses are trained. The nursing staff of the Department consists of 37 European qualified matrons and sisters, 129 European Roman Catholic mothers and sisters, 4 Ceylonese sisters, 47 public health nurses, and 414 matrons and nurses trained locally, and pupils in training.

The cost of working the department amounted in 1936-37 to rs. 11,085,271. The receipts, which included the cost of maintenance of paying patients, sale of medicines, etc., amounted to rs. 719,061 for 1936-37. The expenditure on account of estate medical aid was rs. 890,603 for 1936-37. The export duty levied for the purpose of meeting the expense of providing Medical aid to estates under the Medical Wants Ordinance No. 9 of 1912 amounted to rs. 1,413,693 for 1936-37.

Currency and Banking.

The weights and measures in common use are British.

Accounts are kept in rupees, and the money in circulation is Indian and Ceylon rupee currency, sovereigns having ceased to be legal tender in the Colony in 1920. Ceylon cents take the place of the Indian annas and pice. The notes of the Chartered Mercantile Bank remained in circulation to some extent until 1888, when its charter expired, but since the failure of the Oriental Banking Corporation in 1884, the Government has instituted a note-issue of which the amount in circulation on the 31st December, 1937, was rs. 48,412,984. These notes are legal tender except at the Colombo Issue Office.

The following banks have establishments in the Colony : Mercantile Bank of India, Limited; Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China; Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation; Imperial Bank of India; National Bank of India, Limited; Eastern Bank, Limited; P. & O. Banking Corporation, Ltd.; Thos. Cook & Son (Bankers), Ltd.; the Bank of Chettinad; the Indian Bank, Ltd.; the Calicut Bank, Ltd.; the Bank of Uva, Ltd. None of these issues notes in Ceylon.

The Ceylon Savings Bank was established in 1832, and Post Office Savings Banks were opened in 1885. On 31st December, 1937, the deposits were: Ceylon Savings Bank, rs. 16,620,267; Post Office Savings Banks, rs. 19,726,415.

The Colombo Harbour.

The Colombo Port Commission was established in 1913 to administer the affairs of the Port of Colombo. The Commission is composed of seven official members and eight unofficial members. The official members are the Principal Collector of Customs (Chairman), the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services, the General Manager of the Railway, the Mayor of Colombo, the Deputy Collector of Customs, Colombo, the Master Attendant, Colombo and Galle, and the Harbour Engineer. Six of the unofficial members are appointed to represent Import, Export, Shipping, Coal, Oil, and Landing Agencies' Interests, and the remaining two are nominated by the Governor to represent Ceylonese Interests.

The Harbour Works consist of three breakwaters, The South-West, completed in 1885 at a total cost of 658,4571., is 4,212 feet long, and runs from the shore in a direction North by East. It is built of concrete blocks weighing from 18 to 30 tons, set in what is known as the sloping bond system.

The North-East and Island breakwaters were com The pleted in 1906, at a total cost of 531,6571. North-East breakwater is a rubble embankment 1,100 feet long, tipped from a staging.

The Island breakwater is a detached work, 2,670 feet in length, running between the two shore breakwaters, leaving a western entrance of 750 feet, and a northern entrance of 700 feet. This breakwater is of similar construction to the South-West arm.

These three breakwaters enclose an area of 643 acres, or one square mile.

An extension of the S.W. breakwater, starting from a point 3,150 feet from the shore end, was commenced in December, 1907, and completed in April, 1912. The arm is 1,800 feet long, and runs in a direction almost due north, protecting the present main entrance from the S.W. Monsoon seas. cost of this additional arm was 338,9311.

The

The Graving Dock. A Graving Dook was com pleted in 1906. It is 717 feet long, 85 feet wide at the entrance, and has a depth over the sill of 30 feet at low water. Its oost was 520,1891. There is also a guide pier, 800 feet long, to assist vessels entering the dock. The dock has its own electric light installation. The docking of ships can be carried out by day or night.

Inner Graving Dock. An Inner Graving Dock, 350 feet long, 54 feet wide, with a depth of 20 feet at sill" has been constructed. This is an extension of the existing Graving Dock.

66

The Palent Slip was opened in 1903, the cost being 44,7921. It is 800 feet long, the cradle being 220 feet, and is capable of dealing with vessels up to 1,200 tons dead weight.

Oil Facilities. The Oil Installations Depôt, which is about 92 acres in extent, lies some 4 miles inland from the harbour front. The Oil Companies' storage tanks are situated within this area, with pipe line connection from the harbour for fuel oil, kerosine, and benzine imported in bulk. There is also a Measuring Tanks Depôt (about 19 acres in extent) at Bloemondahl, about three-quarters of a mile from the Harbour. Three reinforced concrete jetties, two for bunkering purposes and one for the discharge of oil tankers, have been provided. The Outer Bunkering Jetty can accommodate vessels of 500 feet in length with a draught of 27 feet; the Inner Bunkering Jetty is available for barges only. The Discharge Jetty can accommodate vessels of 500 feet in length with a draught of 27 feet. The capital expenditure on the oil scheme up to 30th September, 1937, was rs. 5,363,762.

The Coaling Depôt consists of 25 acres of land, reclaimed from the sea, with a frontage of 2,200 feet, from which 17 jetties project into the harbour for the landing, stacking, and shipping of coal. The total cost of this depôt was 158,500l.

The total cost of the Reclamation, Jetties and Quays amounts to 216,1241.

The Fishery Harbour is to the northward of Colombo harbour for the use of the fishermen as a beaching ground. The fishery harbour consists of a rubble breakwater running out from the shore in a curve for 800 feet, the sheltered part forming a natural beaching ground for fishing canoes. The cost was 11,5071

The total expenditure on the Colombo harbour from 1873, when work in connection with the first breakwater was commenced, to 1913, when the Colombo Port Commission assumed control of the harbour, was rs. 44,790,267, or 2,986,0181., taking the value of the rupee at ls. 4d.

In the period 1913 to 1937 a sum of rs. 61,800,025 or 4,120,0021., has been spent on various development and maintenance works by the Colombo Port Commission and a sum of rs. 2,603,045 or 173,5361. by the Public Works Department, making a total of rs. 64,403,070 or 4,293,538l. In addition to the above expenditure a sum of rs. 1,202,406 or 80,160l. was charged to Loan Funds during the period 19231936, in connection with the dredging of the Colombo Harbour (including rock excavation). Prior to 1st October, 1922, this expenditure was met from Revenue, and is included in the sum of rs. 64,403,070 or 4,293,5381. mentioned above.

Since the Colombo Port Commission assumed

control of the Port, many improvements have been carried out, and shore facilities much increased. The warehouse accommodation in 1913 was 291,600 sq. ft, and this has been increased to 568,786 sq. ft.; simi. larly the quayage for lighters has been increased from 4,645 lineal ft. to 19,709 lineal feet, including 15 coaling jetties and 3,105 lineal feet at the Lake to Harbour Canal Quay.

Dredging for deepening the harbour has been steadily carried out, and, of the 643 acres low water area of the harbour, 250 acres are now dredged to 36 feet and over,171 acres to between 36 and 33 feet, 68 acres to between 33 and 30 feet, and the remaining 154 acres have a depth of less than 30 feet; berthing accommodation exclusive of the Graving Dock Guide Pier and Oil Jetties being available for 35 vessels in the north-east monsoon and for 23, or, if packed berths are used, 38, vessels in the south-west monsoon, six of which berths are available for vessels of draughts up to 33 feet during the north-east monsoon and four during the south-west monsoon.

A scheme for the development of the Colombo Lake and its connection to the Harbour was completed in 1925 at a total cost of rs. 9,206,490. The total capital expenditure on the Lake Scheme up to September, 1937, was rs. 10,048,032. The connection to the Harbour was taken over by the Colombo Port Commission in 1922, and the areas on both sides developed for the landing of import cargoes.

The maintenance of the waterways and quay walls of the Colombo Lake up to and including the operation of the San Sebastian Canal Locks and pumping plant has also been taken over, and this will lead to further development of its resources. The portion of land bordering on the Beira Lake and running parallel to Parsons Road, taken over by the Colombo Port Commission, has been earmarked for barge repairing and barge construction purposes. Two firms have lots there. The development of these Barge Yards has relieved the congestion in the Harbour by affording facilities for the reception of a number of boats which had hitherto been moored in the Harbour. Land on the lakeside, by its propinquity to the Harbour and easy access thereto both by land and water, affords a valuable venue for commercial purposes.

Railways.

The lines of railway, all of which are owned and worked by the Government, are distributed thus:Broad Gauge (5ft. 6 in.), Colombo to Badulla (181) miles), Polgahawela to Kankesanturai (212 miles), Peradeniya Junction to Kandy and Matale (21 miles), Ragama Junction to Mahara Quarry (1 miles), Colombo to Matara (98 miles), Ragama to Puttalam (74 miles), Maho to Batticaloa (131) miles), Galoya Junction to Trincomalee (441 miles). Madawachi to Talaimannar Pier (66 miles), Kolonnawa Oil Line and Harbour Branch (3 miles). Narrow Gauge (2ft. 6 in.), Colombo Fort to Yatiyantota (49 miles), Avisawella to Opanaike (48) miles), Nanu Oya to Ragalla (19 miles). Total Mileage 951 miles. The total cost of construction up to