Ampara District

Ampara District (Tamil: அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், romanized: Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; Sinhala: අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, romanized: Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions 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 town of Ampara. The district was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa District in April 1961.[4][5]

Ampara District அம்பாறை மாவட்டம் අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
Administrative District
Paddy field in Oluvil
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 07°05′N 81°45′E
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Eastern
Created	April 1961
Capital	Ampara
Largest City	Kalmunai
DS Division	List Addalaichchenai Akkaraipattu Alayadivembu Ampara Damana Dehiattakandiya Irakkamam Kalmunai (Muslim) Kalmunai (Tamil) Karaitivu Lahugala Maha Oya Navithanveli Nintavur Padiyathalawa Pottuvil Sainthamarathu Samanthurai Thirukkovil Uhana
Government
• District Secretary	D. M. L. Bandaranayake
• MPs	List A. L. M. Athaullah P. Dayaratna Cassim Faizal H. M. M. Harees Podiappuhamy Piyasena Sarath Weerasekara Sriyani Wijewickrama
Area [1]
• Total	4,415 km^2 (1,705 sq mi)
• Land	4,222 km^2 (1,630 sq mi)
• Water	193 km^2 (75 sq mi)  4.37%
Area rank	4th (6.73% of total area)
Population  (2012 census)[2]
• Total	648,057
• Rank	14th (3.20% of total pop.)
• Density	150/km^2 (380/sq mi)
Ethnicity (2012 census)[2]
• Moor	282,484 (43.59%)
• Sinhalese	251,018 (38.73%)
• Sri Lankan Tamil	112,750 (17.40%)
• Burgher	849 (0.13%)
• Other	956 (0.15%)
Religion (2012 census)[3]
• Muslim	282,746 (43.63%)
• Buddhist	250,213 (38.61%)
• Hindu	102,454 (15.81%)
• Christian	12,609 (1.95%)
• Other	35 (0.01%)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes	32000-32999
Telephone Codes	063, 067
ISO 3166 code	LK-52
Vehicle registration	EP
Official Languages	Tamil, Sinhala
Website	Ampara District Secretariat

Geography

Ampara District is located in the south east of Sri Lanka in the Eastern Province. It has an area of 4,415 square kilometres (1,705 sq mi).[1] It is bounded by Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts from north, Indian Ocean from east, Hambantota District from south, Badulla and Matale districts from northwest and by the Monaragala District from west and southeast.[4]

The north-western panhandle of Ampara District (Dehiyattakandiya D.S. Division) is separated from the rest of the district and Eastern Province by the Maduru Oya Reservoir.

Demographics

Population

Ampara District's population was 648,057 in 2012.[2] The district is one of the most diverse in Sri Lanka, both ethnically and religiously.

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.[6] Several hundred thousand Sinhalese move to west side of the country. 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

Population of Ampara District by ethnic group 1963 to 2012[2][7]

Year	Sri Lankan Moor		Sinhalese		Sri Lankan Tamil		Indian Tamil		Other		Total No.
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1963 Census	97,621	46.11%	61,996	29.28%	49,185	23.23%	1,312	0.62%	1,618	0.76%	211,732
1971 Census	126,365	46.35%	82,280	30.18%	60,519	22.20%	1,771	0.65%	1,670	0.61%	272,605
1981 Census	161,568	41.54%	146,943	37.78%	77,826	20.01%	1,411	0.36%	1,222	0.31%	388,970
2001 Census	244,620	41.25%	236,583	39.90%	109,188	18.41%	715	0.12%	1,891	0.32%	592,997
2007 Enumeration	268,630	43.99%	228,938	37.49%	111,948	18.33%	58	0.01%	1,145	0.19%	610,719
2012 Census	282,484	43.59%	251,018	38.73%	112,750	17.40%	165	0.03%	1,640	0.25%	648,057

Religion

Population of Ampara District by religion 1981 to 2012[3][8]

Year	Muslim		Buddhist		Hindu		Christian[lower-alpha 1]		Others		Total No.
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1981 Census	162,140	41.68%	145,687	37.45%	72,809	18.72%	8,030	2.06%	304	0.08%	388,970
2001 Census	245,179	41.35%	235,652	39.74%	100,213	16.90%	11,785	1.99%	168	0.03%	592,997
2012 Census	282,746	43.63%	250,213	38.61%	102,454	15.81%	12,609	1.95%	35	0.01%	648,057

Politics and government

Administrative units of Ampara District in 2006

Local government

Ampara District has 20 local authorities of which two are Municipal Councils, one is an Urban Council and the remaining 17 are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).

Local Authority	Area	Population	Registered Electors (2011)	Elected Members (2011)
				UPFA[lower-alpha 2]	SLMC	UNP	TNA	Other	Total
Addalaichchenai Divisional Council	94.50	43,499	25,510	2	7	0	0	0	9
Akkaraipattu Divisional Council	64.22	39,148	4,074	6	1	0	0	0	7
Akkaraipattu Municipal Council			20,971	8	1	0	0	0	9
Alayadivembu Divisional Council	129.20	26,175	15,358	2	0	0	5	2	9
Ampara Urban Council			13,523	6	0	3	0	0	9
Damana Divisional Council			23,899	7	0	2	0	0	9
Dehiattakandiya Divisional Council			40,099	12	0	7	0	2	21
Irakkamam Divisional Council			8,185	2	5	0	0	0	7
Kalmunai Municipal Council	22.80	100,427	68,198	3	11	1	4	0	19
Karaitivu Divisional Council	8.60	18,435	12,044	0	1	0	4	0	5
Lahugala Divisional Council			5,861	4	0	7	0	0	11
Maha Oya Divisional Council	697.80	17,801	12,607	7	0	3	0	0	10
Namal Oya Divisional Council	105.10		16,715	6	0	3	0	0	9
Navithanveli Divisional Council			12,799	1	1	0	4	1	7
Nintavur Divisional Council	42.90	28,247	19,124	1	6	0	0	0	7
Padiyatalawa Divisional Council			11,686	7	0	3	0	1	11
Pottuvil Divisional Council	269.00	31,995	21,398	2	6	0	1	0	9
Sammanthurai Divisional Council	198.40	75,257	37,469	5	3	1	0	0	9
Thirukkovil Divisional Council	212.12	29,860	18,076	1	0	1	7	0	9
Uhana Divisional Council	415.00	60,071	40,694	9	0	5	0	1	15
Total			428,290	91	42	36	25	7	201

Administrative units

Ampara District is divided into 20 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 507 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).

DS Division	Main Town	Divisional Secretary	GN Divisions	Area (km^2) [9]	Population (2012 Census)[10]						Population Density (/km^2)
					Sri Lankan Moors	Sinhalese	Sri Lankan Tamil	Burgher	Other	Total
Addalaichchenai	Addalaichchenai	I. M. Haniffa	32	62	38,948	2,218	942	30	27	42,165
Akkaraipattu	Akkaraipattu	M. Y. Saleem	28	60	39,016	165	35	7	0	39,223
Alayadivembu	Alayadivembu	V. Jahadeesan	22	90	22	228	22,014	129	18	22,411
Ampara (Namal Oya)	Ampara	M. M. S. K. Bandara Mapa	22	174	133	43,177	172	45	193	43,720
Damana	Damana	S. K. Kulathunga Mudali	33	542	137	38,302	28	5	17	38,489
Dehiattakandiya	Dehiattakandiya	W. G. M.Hemantha Kumara	14	394	108	58,948	67	0	505	59,628
Irakkamam (Eragama)	Irakkamam	M. M. Nazeer	12		13,084	938	350	0	1	14,373
Kalmunai (Muslim)	Kalmunai	M M. Noufal	28	22	44,306	124	66	1	12	44,509
Kalmunai (Tamil)	Kalmunai	K. Lavanathan	29		2,376	231	26,564	490	52	29,713
Karaitivu	Karaitivu	S. Jegarajan	17	7	6,753	13	9,891	123	1	16,781
Lahugala	Lahugala	L. A. Somarathna	12	815	1	8,253	645	0	1	8,900
Maha Oya	Maha Oya	A. M. Wickramarachchi	17	667	42	20,655	15	2	1	20,715
Navithanveli	Navithanveli	S. Garan	20		6,399	153	12,101	9	10	18,672
Nintavur	Nintavur	R U. Abdul Jaleel	25	35	25,347	8	969	2	3	26,329
Padiyathalawa	Padiyathalawa	K. G. S. Nishantha	20	379	87	18,091	28	0	3	18,209
Pottuvil	Pottuvil	M. I. M. Thawfieek	27	265	27,213	881	6,581	3	71	34,749
Sainthamaruthu	Sainthamaruthu	A. L. Mohamed Saleem	17	6	25,389	5	17	0	1	25,412
Sammanthurai	Sammanthurai	A. Mansoor	51	229	53,114	297	7,178	1	6	60,596
Thirukkovil	Thirukkovil	M. Gopakaretnam	22	184	2	100	25,055	1	29	25,187
Uhana	Uhana	U. P. Indika Anurudda Piyadasa	59	485	7	58,231	32	1	5	58,276
Total			507	4,415	282,484	251,018	112,750	849	956	648,057	147

Notes

1. Roman Catholic and Other Christian.
2. Includes National Congress.

References

1. "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. "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
3. "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
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. "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
7. "Special Enumeration 2007, Ampara" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
8. "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.
9. "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.
10. "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.

External links

• Ampara District Secretariat