மட்டக்களப்பு மாநகர சபை.
Batticaloa Municipal Council
Voice of Singing Fish
Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It lies in 580824.828 M, North and 598832.632 M East in the global positioning system (G.P.S) coordinates. It has a heritage of its own. The city of Batticaloa is bounded on the North by the Eravur Pattu Pradeshiya Saba, on the East by bay of Bengal, on the South by Kattankudy Urban Council and on the West by Batticaloa lagoon which separates the Manmunai West Divisional Secretariat division and Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat division. The Eastern side of the city is sandy and the Western side is sandy and gravel. The city is flat with the exception of Puliyantivu which is a little higher than the rest of the area. The city is between 1.20 M and 4.0 M above M.S.L. with scrub jungle and mangrove on the Northern side bordering the lagoon. The annual rainfall is from 864 mm and 3081 mm brought by the seasonal North – East monsoon and inter monsoon. The rainy season is between October and January. The temperature is recorded between 25 ° C and 36 ° C. Batticaloa Municipal Council limit coincides with the Manmunai North D.S. Division.
From 1884 to 1932 ,the Administration was under the local board of Batticaloa. Batticaloa city was managed by a local board with a few wards.
This was upgraded into an Urban Council in 1933 with 8 wards. The first Chairman of the Urban Council was Late Mr. J.N. Tisseveerasinghe, an eminent lawyer of the Batticaloa Bar. The area was 10.17 sq. miles with 10 wards.
In 1944 Revision of wards were increasing the number to 10.
The area of the Urban Council was expanded in 1956 and another 04 wards were added. The last Chairman of the Urban Council was Late Mr. T.L. Tissaveerasinghe, also a lawyer and a nephew of the 1 st U.C. Chairman.
In 1963, Variation of limits and increasing the number of wards to 12 with effect from 01.07.1963.
The Urban Council was upgraded into a Municipal Council in 1967 with the amalgamation of Manmunai North – East (Northern Portion) village council and the number of wards was increased to 19 wards.
The first Mayor of the Municipal Council was Chelliah Rajadurai Esqr., then first sitting M.P. of Batticaloa electorate. Before long the first Mayor was unseated and Mr. J.L. Tissaveerasinghe become the Mayor.
The Municipal Council was further extended in 1988 with the amalgamation of Valaieravu Pradeshiya Saba area and the extent of the Council is 75.09 sq.Km. of which 10.83 sq.km. are lagoon and small ponds.
The Municipal Council was dissolved in 1974 and the administration came under special commissioner. Local elections were held in 1983 and Late Mr. Ambalavanar was elected Mayor. One month after the Council was sworn in, the Members, Mayor and the Deputy Mayor resigned their offices. There after till 1994 the Municipal administration was in the hands of Special Commissioners. In 1994 local elections were held and Mr. Chelliyan Perinpanayagam was elected Mayor. The Council was dissolved on 31.03.1999.
After 09 years ,On 10 th March 2008, Municipal Council Election was held.After that newly elected representatives are supporting with the administration and development of city.
The Population of the city is 89191 of which 46118 are females and 43073 are males. The voting population is 59286. By ethnicity the Tamils 79205 the Muslims 4785, Burghers 5042 and the Singhalese 159.