Batticaloa is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial centre. It is on the east coast, 111 kilometres (69 mi) south of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island. Pasikudah is popular tourist destinations situated 35 km (22 mi) northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons.
The Eastern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Trincomalee.
The Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections, 2008 was held on May 10, 2008 to elect members to Sri Lanka’s Eastern Provincial Council. Following the successful completion of local government elections in the Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka’s Elections Department announced on March 14 that the elections for the Eastern Provincial Council were to be held in May, after a lapse of 20 years. It was only the second time direct elections are held to select members for the council, and first time for the Eastern Provincial Council alone, after it was separated from the North-Eastern Provincial Council in 2006.
Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, served as Chief Minister of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. He is also the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), a political party in Sri Lanka. A former armed fighter of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organization, Chandrakanthan broke away from the Tamil Tigers along with Karuna Amman in April 2004, and became the deputy leader of the breakaway faction, renamed as the TMVP.
The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka provides for the election of members of Parliament from 22 multi-member electoral districts through the proportional representation electoral system.
Batticaloa Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Batticaloa in the Eastern province. The district currently elects 5 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 344,750 registered electors in 2010.
Batticaloa Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the city of Batticaloa in Batticaloa District, Eastern Province. The district was a two-member constituency between March 1960 and February 1989. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Batticaloa electoral district was replaced by the Batticaloa multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Batticaloa continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Kalkudah Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Kalkudah in Batticaloa District, Eastern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Kalkudah electoral district was replaced by the Batticaloa multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Kalkudah continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Paddiruppu electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Paddiruppu in Batticaloa District, Eastern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Paddiruppu electoral district was replaced by the Batticaloa multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Paddiruppu continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Upaar Lagoon is an estuarine lagoon in Batticaloa District, eastern Sri Lanka.
Batticaloa Lagoon is a very large estuarine lagoon in Batticaloa District, eastern Sri Lanka. The city of Batticaloa is located on land between the lagoon and the Indian Ocean.Batticaloa district is flourished with three lagoons, such Batticaloa lagoon, Valaichchenai Lagoon and Vakari Lagoon. Among them, Batticaloa lagoon is the largest lagoon in Batticaloa District. Batticaloa lagoon is a long and narrow lagoon situated in the east coast of Sri Lanka with the total area of approximately 11,500 ha of water.
Ammer Ali Seyed Mohammad Sihabdeen is a Sri Lankan politician, a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a Deputy Minister of Rural Economic Affairs. Ameer Ali is married and has three sons.
The Northern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Eastern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Jaffna. The majority of the Sri Lankan Civil War was played out in this province.
Kingsley Rasanayagam (1941–2004) was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former Member of Parliament. In 2004 Rasanayagam was selected by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary candidate. He represented the Batticaloa multi-member electoral district for the TNA in the Sri Lankan Parliament, for a short period of time between April 2004 and May 2004. In May 2004, he was pressured to resign, by the LTTE because of his close relationship with former LTTE Eastern Province leader Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman. LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran feared that he would become a patron to the political party registered by Karuna Amman, Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP).
The Batticaloa Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1628 and was captured by the Dutch on 18 May 1638. From 1795, the fort was used by the British.
Bone Island is a tiny island as part of Batticaloa Lagoon among other small islands of Sri Lanka It has no causeway connection to the mainland, it is connected by boat. It uses as resting place by local fishermen, and it has significant attraction of local tourists. J. A. Bone, Asst. Government Agent (1833–1837), built a small bungalow in the island. Later, the island called by his name.
Govinthan Karunakaran, also known by the alias Jana, is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, former provincial councillor and Member of Parliament.
Valaichchenai Lagoon is an estuarine lagoon in Batticaloa District, eastern Sri Lanka. Batticaloa district has three lagoons, such Valaichchenai Lagoon, Batticaloa Lagoon and Vakari Lagoon. Valaichchenai lagoon is situated in populated areas of Valaichchenai, Oddamavadi
Mahamood Lebbe Alim Mohamed Hizbullah is a Sri Lankan politician and state minister. He is one of the presidential candidates running in the 2019 Presidential Elections.
Batticaloa region (Tamil: மட்டக்களப்புத் தேசம் Maṭṭakkaḷapput tēcam; also known as Matecalo; Baticalo; in Colonial records, was the ancient region of Tamil Settlements in Sri Lanka. The foremost record of this region can be seen in Portuguese and Dutch historical documents along with local inscriptions such as "Sammanthurai Copper epigraphs" written on 1683 CE which also mentions about "Mattakkalappu Desam". Although there is no more the existence of Batticaloa region today, the amended term "Batti-Ampara Districts" still can be seen in the Tamil print media of Sri Lanka.
