What is "moratuwa"

Moratuwa is a large suburb of Colombo city, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle– Colombo (Galle road) main highway, 18 km south of Colombo city centre. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides by water, except in the north of the city, by the Indian Ocean on the west, the Bolgoda lake on the east and the Moratu river on the south. According to the 2012 census, the suburb had a population of 168,280.

Moratuwa is also the birthplace of Veera Puran Appu, a hero who rose against oppression by the British in Kandy and the legendary philanthropist Sir Charles Henry de Soysa.