Mullaitivu District

Mullaitivu District
முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம்
මුලතිවු දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
—  Administrative District  —
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates:
Country  Sri Lanka
Province Northern
Created September 1978
Capital Mullaitivu
Divisional Secretariats
Government
 • District Secretary A. Pathinathar
Area
 • Total 2,617 km2 (1,010.4 sq mi)
 • Land 2,415 km2 (932.4 sq mi)
 • Water 202 km2 (78 sq mi)  7.72%
Area rank 11th (3.99% of total area)
Population (2007)
 • Total 220,311
 • Density 84.2/km2 (218/sq mi)
Ethnicity(2007)[1]
 • Sri Lankan Tamil 220,117 (99.91%)
 • Moor 193 (0.09%)
 • Sinhalese 1 (0.00%)
 • Indian Tamil 0 (0.01%)
 • Other 0 (0.00%)
Religion
 • Hindu
 • Catholic
 • Muslim
 • Buddhist
 • Other
Time zone Sri Lanka (UTC+05:30)
Post Codes 42000-42999
ISO 3166 code LK-45
Vehicle registration NP
Official Languages Tamil, Sinhala
Website Mullaitivu District Secretariat

Mullaitivu district (Tamil: முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம் Mullaittīvu, Sinhala: මුලතිවු දිස්ත්‍රික්කය Mulativu) is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. 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 headquarters is located in Mullaitivu town. The district was carved out of the northern part of Vavuniya district together with parts of the then Jaffna district (now Kilinochchi district), Mannar district and Trincomalee district in September 1978.

Contents

History

The Mullativu area was colonized in the second half of the 18th century by Jaffna Tamils primarily from Alaveddy, Udduppidy and Navaly.[2].

Geography

Mullaitivu district is located in the north east of Sri Lanka in the Northern Province. It has an area of 2,617 square kilometres (1,010 sq mi)[3].

Administrative units

Mullaitivu district is divided into 5 Divisional Secretary's (DS) Divisions, each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent)[4]. The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 127 Grama Niladhari (GN) Divisions (villages)[4].

DS Division Main Town GN
Divisions[4]		 Area
(km2)[5]		 Population[1]
Manthai East Pandiyankulam 15 515.0 24,122
Maritimepattu Mullaitivu 46 744.6 55,809
Oddusuddan Oddusuddan 27 639.0 25,765
Puthukkudiyiruppu Puthukkudiyiruppu 19 371.0 89,784
Thunukkai Thunukkai 20 347.3 24,831
Total 127 2,616.9 220,311

Demographics

Population

Mullaitivu district's population was 220,311 in 2007[1]. The population of the district is almost exclusively Sri Lankan Tamil.

The population of the district, like the rest of the North and East, has been heavily affected by the civil war. The war has killed an estimated 70,000 people[6]. Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as 400,000[7], have emigrated to the West since the start of the war. There are a further 800,000 internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka, many of them living in refugee camps in the North and East and depending on aid provided by NGOs[8]. There are approximately 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees is India[9]. Many Sri Lankan Tamils have also moved to the relative safety of Colombo. The war has also caused almost all of the Sri Lankan Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the district to flee to other parts of Sri Lanka.

Ethnicity

Population of Mullaitivu District by ethnic group 1981 to 2007
Year Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Moors Sinhalese Others Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
1981 Census 69,670 89.88% 3,777 4.87% 3,948 5.09% 117 0.15% 77,512 100.00%
2001 Estimate1 79,544 99.99% 0 0.00% 8 0.01% 0 0.00% 79,552 100.00%
2007 Estimate 220,117 99.91% 193 0.09% 1 0.00% 0 0.00% 220,311 100.00%
Source:[1]

1 2001 Census was not carried out in Mullaitivu district.

Politics and government

Local government

Mullaitivu district has four local authorities all of which are Pradeshya Sabhas[10].

Local Authority Elected
Members		 Area
(km2)		 Population
Manthai East Pradeshya Sabha 0 494.0 24,298
Maritimepattu Pradeshya Sabha 0 728.6 55,809
Puthukkudiyiruppu Pradeshya Sabha 9 968.0 115,605
Thunukkai Pradeshya Sabha 0 326.3 24,965
Source:[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 2007 Estimate - Northern Provincial Council
  2. ^ Sivaratnam, C. (1968). The Tamils in early Ceylon. pp. 153. http://books.google.com/books?id=hlocAAAAMAAJ&q=%22This+Vanni+district+was+peacefully+colonised+in+the%22&dq=%22This+Vanni+district+was+peacefully+colonised+in+the%22&hl=en&ei=7ifVS6X9E5KCsgP279H6CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA. 
  3. ^ Department of Census & Statistics Statistical Abstract 2007
  4. ^ a b c Mullaitivu District Secretariat Administration Structure (GN Divisions)
  5. ^ Northern Provincial Council Statistical Handbook 2008 (Geographical)
  6. ^ BBC News Quick guide: Sri Lanka
  7. ^ Sri Lankan Tamil Migration
  8. ^ UNHCR Global Appeal 2008-2009 - Sri Lanka
  9. ^ Acharya, Arunkumar (2007). "Ethnic conflict and refugees in Sri Lanka". Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon
  10. ^ a b Northern Provincial Council Statistical Handbook 2008 (Administration and Local Government)

External links

Mullaitivu District Secretariat

Central (Kandy • Matale • Nuwara Eliya) · Eastern (Ampara • Batticaloa • Trincomalee) · North Central (Anuradhapura • Polonnaruwa) · Northern (Jaffna • Kilinochchi • Mannar • Mullaitivu • Vavuniya) · North Western (Kurunegala • Puttalam) · Sabaragamuwa (Kegalle • Ratnapura) · Southern (Galle • Hambantota • Matara) · Uva (Badulla • Moneragala) · Western (Colombo • Gampaha • Kalutara)