|
Jaffna district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district
is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously
known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The
headquarters is located in Jaffna city. Parts of the district were transferred to
newly created Mullaitivu district in September 1978. Kilinochchi district was carved
out of the southern part of Jaffna district in February 1984.
The Jaffna district occupies the land that constituted the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom.
Important Hindu temples such as Nainativu Nagapoosani Amman Temple, Naguleswaram,
Nallur Kanthaswamy temple, Maviddapuram kanthaswamy temple, Selvachannithy, Vallipuram
and Buddhist Nagadweepa Vihara are located in the Jaffna District. At the time that
Sri Lanka gained independence, Jaffna was one of the three districts located in
the Northern Province. Parts of the Jaffna District were redistricted with the creation
of the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.
|