Batticaloa District ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டம் ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මඩකලපුව දිස්ත්රික්කය ''maḍakalapūva distrikkaya'') is one of the 25
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, the second level
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
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
Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the se ...
was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961.
Geography
Batticaloa District is located in the east of Sri Lanka in the
Eastern Province. It has an area of .
Administrative units
Batticaloa District is divided into 14
Divisional Secretary's Division
The districts of Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as ''divisional secretariats''. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the ''korale''s and ''rata''s. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the ...
(DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).
The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 346
Grama Niladhari
''Grama Niladhari'' (''village officers'') ( si, ග්රාම නිලධාරී) is a Sri Lankan public official appointed by the central government to carry out administrative duties in a ''grama niladhari'' division, which is a sub-un ...
Divisions (GN Divisions).
[
]
Demographics
Population
Batticaloa District's population was 525,142 in 2012.[ The population of the district mostly Sri Lankan Tamil.
The population of the district, like the rest of the east and ]north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
, was affected by the civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people. Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to the West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
during the war.Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. 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
Religion
Politics and government
Local government
Batticaloa District has 12 local authorities
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
of which one is a Municipal Council, two are Urban Councils and the remaining nine are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).[
]
Notes
References
External links
Batticaloa District Secretariat
{{Provinces and Districts of Sri Lanka
Districts of Sri Lanka