Chankanai (Tamil: சங்கானை) is a town located 12 km (7.5 mi) north-west of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Chankanai
சங்கானை
චන්කානෛයි
Chankanai is located in Northern Province
Chankanai
Chankanai
Coordinates: 9°45′0″N 79°58′0″E / 9.75000°N 79.96667°E / 9.75000; 79.96667
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceNorthern
DistrictJaffna
DS DivisionValikamam West

Chankanai has a Peripheral Unit government hospital, called Chankanai Divisional Hospital, with 76 beds as of 2010.[1] It is controlled by the provincial government in Jaffna and is also the only hospital in Northern Province that provides telemetry services for neurorehabilitation.[2]

There is a church from Dutch colonial rule that was built by the Portuguese and later improved by the Dutch.[3][4][5]

Etymology

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It is believed that the name Chankanai originated from its market roots. This was a famous trading place. The measurements used for rice in old era were "Changazhi", "Nazhi" and "Uzhi". The name originated from a combination of these three measuring containers.[3]

There is a similar place name found in Kerala is known as Changanassery. Both the places are related with markets and trading places.[3]

Geography

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Chankanai is surrounded by Nitchamam, Thottilady, Sandilipay, Kattudai, Sithankerny.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  2. ^ "The Neuro Rehabilitation Services at Chankanai Divisional Hospital. – International Medical Health Organization". Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  3. ^ a b c d "பிரதேச செயலகம் - சங்கானை - கண்ணோட்டம்". 2019-03-28. Archived from the original on 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  4. ^ amazinglanka. "Ruins of the Chankanai Dutch Church in Jaffna". AmazingLanka.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  5. ^ Jayasinghe, Sagara. "Nineteenth century Catholic Church architecture in Sri Lanka: Evolution of a tropical model". Conference Proceedings International Conference on Integrated Design: Building Our Future.

9°45′N 79°58′E / 9.750°N 79.967°E / 9.750; 79.967