Batticaloa District (Tamil: மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டம் Maṭṭakkaḷappu Māvaṭṭam; Sinhala: මඩකලපුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය maḍakalapuva distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. 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 capital of the district is the city of Batticaloa. Ampara District was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961.[4][5]

Batticaloa District
மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டம்
මඩකලපුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
Sunset at Kumburumoolai
Sunset at Kumburumoolai
Location within Sri Lanka
Location within Sri Lanka
Administrative units of Batticaloa District in 2007
Administrative units of Batticaloa District in 2007
Coordinates: 07°50′N 81°20′E / 7.833°N 81.333°E / 7.833; 81.333
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceEastern
CapitalBatticaloa
DS Division
Government
 • District SecretaryKalamathi Pathmaraja
 • MPs
 • MPCs
Area
 • Total2,854 km2 (1,102 sq mi)
 • Land2,610 km2 (1,010 sq mi)
 • Water244 km2 (94 sq mi)  8.55%
 • Rank9th (4.35% of total area)
Population
 (2012 census)
 • Total525,142
 • Rank17th (2.59% of total pop.)
 • Density180/km2 (480/sq mi)
Ethnicity
(2012 census)[2]
 • Sri Lankan Tamil381,285 (72.61%)
 • Moor133,844 (25.49%)
 • Sinhalese6,127 (1.17%)
 • Burgher2,794 (0.53%)
 • Other1,092 (0.21%)
Religion
(2012 census)[3]
 • Hindu338,983 (64.55%)
 • Muslim133,939 (25.51%)
 • Christian46,300 (8.82%)
 • Buddhist5,787 (1.10%)
 • Other133 (0.03%)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes
30000-30999
Telephone Codes065
ISO 3166 codeLK-51
Vehicle registrationEP
Official LanguagesTamil, Sinhala
WebsiteBatticaloa District Secretariat

Geography

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Batticaloa District is located in the east of Sri Lanka in the Eastern Province. It has an area of 2,854 square kilometres (1,102 sq mi).[1]

Administrative units

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Batticaloa District is divided into 14 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).[6] The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 346 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).[6]

DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
[6]
Area
(km2)
[7]
Population (2012 Census)[8] Population
Density
(/km2)
Sri Lankan
Tamil
Sri Lankan Moors Sinhalese Burgher Other Total
Eravurpattu Chenkalady U. Uthayashreethar 39 695 60,278 12,617 2,040 119 82 75,136 108
Eravur Town Eravur S. L. M. Haneefa 15 3 3,287 21,075 191 69 10 24,632 8,211
Kattankudy Kattankudy S. H. Muzammil 18 6 14 40,201 11 0 11 40,237 6,706
Koralaipattu Valaichchenai T. Dinesh 12 35 22,799 77 339 82 20 23,317 666
Koralaipattu Central Pasikudah Nihara Mowjood 9 80 583 24,961 57 36 6 25,643 320
Koralaipattu North Vakarai S. R. Rahulanayahi 16 589 20,519 698 288 5 2 21,512 37
Koralaipattu South Kiran K. Thanapalasundaram 18 582 25,820 18 87 0 136 26,061 45
Koralaipattu West Oddamavadi M. C. Ansar 8 17 65 22,070 7 0 2 22,144 1,303
Manmunai North Batticaloa Srineevasan Gridaran 48 68 76,898 4,569 1,340 2,473 748 86,028 1,265
Manmunaipattu Araiyampathy V. Arulrajah 27 37 22,994 7,520 35 2 32 30,583 827
Manmunai South & Eruvilpattu Kaluvanchikudy S. Suthakar 45 63 60,457 12 192 5 28 60,694 963
Manmunai South West Kokkadichcholai V. Thavarajah 24 145 23,653 5 1,005 1 9 24,673 170
Manmunai West Vavunathivu V. Thavarajah 24 352 28,199 13 180 0 0 28,392 81
Porativupattu Vellavely Nallaiya Vilvaretnam 43 182 35,719 8 355 2 6 36,090 198
Total 346 2,854 381,285 133,844 6,127 2,794 1,092 525,142 184

Demographics

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Population

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Batticaloa District's population was 525,142 in 2012.[2] The population of the district mostly Sri Lankan Tamil.

The population of the district, like the rest of the east and north, was affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people.[9] Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to the West during the war.[10] Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo. The war also caused many people from all ethnic and religious groups who lived in the district to flee to other parts of Sri Lanka, though most of them have returned to the district since the end of the civil war.

Ethnicity

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Population of Batticaloa District by ethnic group 1881 to 2012[2][11][12]
Year Tamil[a] Moor[b] Sinhalese Other Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. %
1881 Census 61,014 57.80% 37,255 35.29% 5,012 4.75% 2,277 2.16% 105,558
1891 Census 69,584 56.71% 44,780 36.50% 6,403 5.22% 1,932 1.57% 122,699
1901 Census 79,857 55.01% 54,190 37.33% 7,575 5.22% 3,539 2.44% 145,161
1911 Census 83,948 54.53% 60,695 39.43% 5,771 3.75% 3,529 2.29% 153,943
1921 Census 84,665 53.35% 63,146 39.79% 7,243 4.56% 3,655 2.30% 158,709
1946 Census 102,264 50.33% 85,805 42.23% 11,850 5.83% 3,267 1.61% 203,186
1953 Census 130,381 48.20% 106,706 39.45% 31,174 11.52% 2,232 0.83% 270,493
1963 Census[c] 141,110 71.93% 46,038 23.47% 6,715 3.42% 2,326 1.19% 196,189
1971 Census 181,527 70.71% 60,889 23.72% 11,548 4.50% 2,757 1.07% 256,721
1981 Census 237,787 71.98% 78,829 23.86% 11,255 3.41% 2,462 0.75% 330,333
2001 Census[13] n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
2007 Enumeration 381,984 74.05% 128,964 25.00% 2,397 0.46% 2,512 0.49% 515,857
2012 Census 382,300 72.80% 133,844 25.49% 6,127 1.17% 2,871 0.55% 525,142

Religion

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Population of Batticaloa District by religion 1981 to 2012[3][14]
Year Hindu Islam Christian[d] Buddhist Others Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
1981 Census 218,812 66.24% 78,810 23.86% 23,499 7.11% 9,127 2.76% 85 0.03% 330,333
2012 Census 338,983 64.55% 133,939 25.51% 46,300 8.82% 5,787 1.10% 133 0.03% 525,142

Poverty

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In 2016 the district was one of the poorest in Sri Lanka and had the fourth-highest incidence of extreme poverty according to the World Bank.[15]

Politics and government

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Local government

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Batticaloa District has 12 local authorities of which one is a Municipal Council, two are Urban Councils and the remaining nine are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).[6]

Local Authority Area Population Registered
Electors
(2008)[e]
Elected Members (2008)[f]
TMVP UPFA SLMC UNP Other Total
Batticaloa Municipal Council 54,948 0 11 1 0 7 19
Eravurpattu Divisional Council 585.70 77,203 45,336 10 1 2 0 1 14
Eravur Urban Council 4.90 40,819 16,522 0 6 2 0 1 9
Kattankudy Urban Council 6.50 46,597 26,454 0 6 1 0 2 9
Koralaipattu Divisional Council 242.00 125,000 41,858 6 2 2 0 1 11
Koralaipattu North Divisional Council 645.00 21,202 12,419 10 1 0 0 0 11
Koralaipattu West Divisional Council 25.00 29,614 17,885 0 7 1 1 0 9
Manmunaipattu Divisional Council 21.50 30,218 18,759 7 0 2 0 0 9
Manmunai South & Eruvilpattu Divisional Council 44.17 70,256 38,386 7 0 0 0 3 10
Manmunai South West Divisional Council 161.60 25,279 14,880 8 0 0 0 1 9
Manmunai West Divisional Council 292.65 30,026 15,771 6 0 0 0 3 9
Porativupattu Divisional Council 176.00 49,066 28,116 7 0 0 0 2 9
Total 61 34 11 1 21 128

Notes

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  1. ^ Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil.
  2. ^ Sri Lankan Moors and Indian Moors
  3. ^ Ampara District was carved out of Batticaloa District in 1961.
  4. ^ Roman Catholic and Other Christian.
  5. ^ 2011 for Eravur Urban Council, Kattankudy Urban Council and Koralaipattu West Divisional Council.
  6. ^ 2011 for Eravur Urban Council, Kattankudy Urban Council and Koralaipattu West Divisional Council.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Area of Sri Lanka by province and district" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  2. ^ a b c "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  3. ^ a b "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  4. ^ "Overview". Ampara District Secretariat. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  5. ^ Mohideen, M. I. M. (27 December 2007). "Sinhalisation of East: A reply to Minister Champika Ranawaka". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  6. ^ a b c d "Divisions". Batticaloa District Secretariat. Archived from the original on 2014-12-24. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  7. ^ "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  8. ^ "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  9. ^ "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
  10. ^ Harrison, Frances (23 July 2003). "Twenty years on - riots that led to war". BBC News.
  11. ^ "Special Enumeration 2007, Batticaloa" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  12. ^ "Demographic Changes by the LTTE Peace Secretariat, April 2008" (PDF). Sangam.
  13. ^ 2001 Census was only carried out partially in Batticaloa District.
  14. ^ "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  15. ^ "Geospatial Poverty Portal: Interactive Maps". World Bank. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
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