| Elephant Pass | |
|---|---|
| Jaffna Peninsula,Northern Province,Sri Lanka | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military base |
| Controlled by |  Sri Lanka Army(1952–2000; since 2009) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(2000–2009) |
| Location | |
  Elephant Pass Location of Elephant Pass | |
| Coordinates | 9°32′50″N80°24′32″E / 9.54726°N 80.408936°E /9.54726; 80.408936 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1952 |
| Battles/wars | First Battle of Elephant Pass Second Battle of Elephant Pass Third Battle of Elephant Pass |
Elephant Pass (Tamil:ஆனையிறவு,romanized: Āṉaiyiṟavu;Sinhala:අලිමංකඩ,romanized: Alimankada)[1] is a region located at the gateway of theJaffna Peninsula in theNorthern Province,Sri Lanka. It lies about 340 km north of the capital. It has animportant military base and used to be the island's largestsalt field. It was regularly the site of battles during theSri Lankan civil war.
Elephant Pass controls access to the Jaffna Peninsula, therefore it is referred to as theGateway to Jaffna. It is very crucial as it is on theisthmus connecting the peninsula to the Sri Lankan mainland, and to territory in the Southern Jaffna peninsula. Elephant Pass connects the militarily significant town ofChavakacheri in theJaffna peninsula to the Sri Lankan mainland.
Elephant Pass is described by Indian authorKalki Krishnamurthy in his Tamil language novelPonniyin Selvan. Elephant Pass has been a strategic military base since 1760, when thePortuguese built afort in the area, which was later rebuilt and garrisoned by theDutch in 1776[2] and later theBritish. A modernmilitary base was built in Elephant Pass by theSri Lankan Army (SLA) in 1952. At a certain point, the base and its outlying camps expanded to cover an area 23 kilometres (14 mi) long and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide.[2]
The base remained under SLA control until 2000, despite repeated attempts to capture the base by theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers). In theFirst Battle of Elephant Pass in 1991, the LTTE suffered heavy losses while trying to capture the base. The base was used as a springboard for a number of SLA offensives during the 1990s, includingOperation Yal Devi (named after theColombo–Jaffna train) in September 1993 and Operation Sath Jaya (Truth’s Victory) in July 1996.[3]
However, in a major military defeat, the Sri Lankan Army lost control of Elephant Pass to the LTTE on 22 April 2000 in theSecond Battle of Elephant Pass.[3][4] The pass was eventually recaptured by Sri Lankan Army in theThird Battle of Elephant Pass in 2009, as part of acampaign that led to military defeat of the Tamil Tigers.
Before the war, the Elephant Passsaltern produced 60,000–80,000 metric tons of salt production per annum and supplied 30–40% of the total salt requirement of the country. However, due to the civil war, saltern operations were abandoned in 1990. Since the liberation of the area by Sri Lankan military forces, the government has shown interest in rebuilding the salterns in the area, due to its immense potential for exporting salt. De-mining in the area has been completed by Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH) with the support of theAustralian Government.[5][6]
Under the phase I programme which covered 330 acres, it was expected that the reactivation of phase I would lead to a production of 20,000–25,000 metric tons per annum of salt production. The second phase of the Elephant Pass saltern of 447 acres commenced in 2015 and is expected to be funded under Treasury funds. An additional 30,000 metric tons are expected and the total employment opportunities generated will be over 3,000. After completing the entire infrastructure development of the saltern, it is envisaged that the salt production will be around 70,000 to 100,000 metric tons of salt per annum. Under the reactivation of Elephant Pass Saltern Project, the construction of sea water intake canal, renovation of reservoir outer earth bunds, rip rap protection of reservoir, renovation of flood protection earth bunds, construction of spillways, electrification, renovation of buildings and purchase of tractors and trailers, tools and accessories are being carried out.[5]
In 2016,Elephant Pass railway station, which was destroyed by the LTTE during the war, was rebuilt with the help of students and teachers from across the country as well as theMinistry of Education.[7]
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