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 ...

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 A Government Agent (GA) or a District Secretary is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public servic ...

(previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of the district is the city of

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

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 or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

, 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 polici ...

. 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 Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

during the war. Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital

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