A city is a large human settlement. People are the main driving force in a city. The dynamism of a city is dependent on people and their behaviour. A preliminary understanding of the composition and diverse capabilities of the populations in a city should be the key to a successful urban study.
This section provides a description of the demographic status and trends in the city, primarily based on 2012 census data, presenting an overall view of the population. Trends and patterns of urban population are discussed including aspects of demography such as age, sex, ethnicity, education levels; and overall observations with regard to migration patterns, suburban population and gender.
Understanding the demographic and composition patterns of the population within the existing physical boundary will help in planning a livable city.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
Data showing the multinational language skills of ethnic group in 2012 in the Batticaloa Municipal Council.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
The total male resident population in the Batticaloa Municipal Council area is 40750, the total female resident population is 45477 out of which the total male migrant population is 5366 and the total female migrant population is 5068. According to that the amount of male inmigrants are comparatively higher than the female inmigrants..
Education has always been a significant element in societal development. The development of education facilities contributes substantially to the development in an urban area.
As a developing country it is crucial to address poverty in order to attain the development goals. Education plays a major role in poverty reduction. Presently, several global cities have been implementing the concept of smart city to improve the quality of life of the society, including in the field of education.
Good educational institutions and coverage enables a population to have decent livelihoods be they self employed or part of the workforce. Understanding how a city provides primary, secondary and tertiary eductional as well as skill development through vocational centres could provide some pointers to how well a city is doing or where it needs to develop further.
Source - Department of Census and Statistics
It shows the computer literacy of persons between the ages of 10 and 40 in terms of gender and it explains that 36% of men and 28% of women in the Batticaloa Municipal Council are computer literate.
Source - District Secretariat, Batticaloa
No. of Students by Divisional secretary's Division and Type of Schools
Source - District Secretariat, Batticaloa
Classification of Schools by Divisional secretary's Division
Connectivity is central to key GoSL strategic aims: to promote economic growth, and to rebalance growth across the country’s 9 provinces. Higher the connectivity to any city, better is the urban growth in that city.
Detailed information on key transport aspects including bus and rail transport, freight route maps, airports and logistic systems are aspects that should be considered for a city to be properly interconnected within the bigger system. One of the SDG targets 11.2 is about access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems, road safety, public transport, and if we are to move towards being sustainble, these need to be considered in tranpsort planning. Further, the needs of people in vulnerable situations, women and children, persons with disabilities and older persons should also be considered.
ICT coverage is another way of being connected and recent technological advances enable a city to be better connected through its access to ICTs as well.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the total length of full paved local authority road and unpaved local authority roads in km. Among the constructed roads 66% of roads were fully paved and 34% of roads were unpaved.
Cities are the primary drivers of economic development, therefore, Sri Lanka’s cities have a decisive role to play in driving the economy forward by catalysing high value-added economic activities, as the country strives to achieve upper middle-income country status.
According the latest Word Cities report, 80 per cent of global GDP is created by cities, despite their accounting for less than 60 per cent of the world’s population (UN-Habitat, 2016).
The Government of Sri Lanka recognizes the role of urban economy in shaping the future of the country. In this respect, Vision 2025 and Public Investment Programme (PIP) 2017-2020 lays out the urban policy priority actions: to promote western region as economic hub of the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, and to promote strategic city development to secondary urban spaces as provincial economic hubs.
It is also interesting to see how competitive a city is, taking into account current and potential roles of governments, businesses and the private sector in the economic development of the city and urban settlements, best use of human capital, and labour force participation, and existing skills and the job market etc. within demarcated territory.
Source - District Statistical Branch
This represents the statistical data of the Batticaloa Divisional Secretariat. According to the Livestock Statistics majority of the livestock has consisted of Cock/Hens. There is no significant pork production in the area.
Urban governance can be simplified as “how government (local, regional and national) and stakeholders decide on planning, financing and managing urban areas”. It involves a continuous process of negotiation and contestation over allocation of social and material resources and political power.
This section provide a snapshot of the emergent contours of urban governance in Sri Lanka, focusing on financial resilience, service provision and economic dynamism.
Information available here are collected and calculated considering secondary data sets, ground level surveys as well as stakeholder discussions. The city governance index has taken many a factor into consideration and provides a valuable way of assessing our cities and how they rank from a governance perspective.
Source - Municipal Council, Batticaloa
The above graph shows the cadre information regarding Municipal
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
There are permanent and casual workers in the road sector in the MC. in year 2021, the majority of them are permanent workers.
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
The majority of the available sanitation-related workers in the MC are permanent in the year 2021. the workers are responsible for all the cleaning and maintaining sanitation-related services in the MC. the permanent as well as casual workers in the MC are supporting the services to be maintained at an efficient level.
Municipal services is one of the key tasks an urban centre carries out fto ensure a functional living condition for its citizens.
The access to municipal services and the quality of their provision strongly influence the social, economic and environmental performance of a city as well as urban development.
Urban centres provide key services that underpin Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic development. Cities provide key government administration functions, such as vehicle registration services, access to social protection schemes, and a range of additional services (explored in detail in Chapter 9, urban governance in the SoSLC Report). Urban centres provide residents with health and education services: providing equitable access to quality healthcare and education. They also include services to facilitate social recreational activities and promote community cohesion, such as libraries, community centres and sports facilities. Ensuring quality services is a crucial component in securing an urban future for all Sri Lankans.
| Number of consumers | Nil |
| Number of persons who have requested the service and are on the waiting list | Nil |
| Number of connections | Nil |
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
Pipe borne water supply facilities do not provided to the public by the Batticaloa Municipal Council.
| Availability of Road Inventory | Yes |
| Availability of Asset register | Yes |
| An online system is available for citizen to request services | Yes |
| A "reference no" is issued to the citizen requesting services | No |
| A "Front Office" is available | Yes |
| All the services can be accessed at a single location (Front Office) by a visiting citizen | Yes |
| Separate Male/Female toilets are available for the visiting citizen | Yes |
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
The above table shows the availability of services provided by Batticaloa Municipal Council to the easy access and quick services.
| Common Wells | Nil |
| Tube Wells | Nil |
| Standpipes | Nil |
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
Common wells, Tube wells and standpipes were not used by the public of Municipal Council area nowadays.
| Psycho-social support programs | |
| Annual budget | Nil |
| Annual spent | Nil |
| Livelihood support programs | |
| Annual budget | Nil |
| Annual spent | Nil |
| Poverty-eradication programs | |
| Annual budget | Nil |
| Annual spent | Nil |
| Support to vulnerable communities | |
| Annual budget | Nil |
| Annual spent | Nil |
| Other programs | |
| Annual budget | Nil |
| Annual spent | Nil |
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
The above table shows the annual budget allocation for social services for the betterment of public. There are no such allocations available in 2020 budget.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph show the mothly wise details of cremations and burials in crematoriums and cemeteries. Since the Batticaloa Municipal Council does not have Crematoriums, only cemeteries are used for cremations.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the details of heavy vehicles and equipments owned by Batticaloa Municipal Council.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the average number of applications per month. Among the regulatory services applications for change-of-ownership are high (67) and environmental-protection-licenses are very low (2).
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the number of commercial places to buy goods such as public markets, commercial/shopping complexes and weekly fairs.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
Thd above graph shows the monthly wise solid waste collection and the average solid waste collection per month is 949 Tons for the year 2020
Source - Batticaloa MC
Providing trainings to the staff will increase the capacities of the officers in managing and decision making. This data explained on provided trainings and the number of officers trained.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the monthly wise septage removal using gully sucker and the average septage removal per month is 72 liters for the year 2020.
Source - IWMI Publication - Solid and Liquid Waste Management and Resource Recovery in Sri Lanka: A 20 city analysis
Municipal Council collects waste in its respective localities at least 6 days per week. However, waste collection coverage is limited to urbanized areas, city centers, and commercial areas. Daily waste collection of the MC is about 52.5MT. Due to the limited industrialized nature of the area, households are the major waste generators. Other major waste sources are markets, hotels, restaurants, institutions (e.g. hospitals, universities) and commercial entities. Although the Council has encouraged source segregation, it has not been well established so far. Currently on 23% of waste collected as segregated which amounts to about 12 MT/day.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
There are 35.804 km of storm water drainages were constructed during the year 2020.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the details of street lightings. There are 2400 street lights were required but 2347 street lights were fixed.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the monthly wise fire hazard prevention services provided by the Batticaloa Municipal Council during the year 2020 and the average number of fire hazard prevention visits were 4 and the average number of service requests within the LA were 9
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the details of Libraries and Community Centres presently administrated by the Batticaloa Municipal Council.
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
The above graph shows the details of Playgrounds, Publi and Children Parks and Gym and Fitness Centres administrated by the Batticaloa Municipal Council.
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
The above graph show the details of Preshools and Daycare centres administrated by the Batticaloa Municipal Council.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
The above graph shows the annual value of septage removal using gully sucker and for the year 2020 totaly 859 liters of septage was removed.
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
The above graph shows the annual value of cremations and burials in crematoriums and cemeteries. Since crematorium facilities are not available in Batticaloa Municipal Council area cemeteries are used for cremations.
A city needs to have an environment that is habitable and conducive with appropriate spaces for people who use the city, while also being resilient in the face of increasing climate risk.
Aspects such as a cities’ air and water quality, quality of the built environment as well as the aesthetic and historic aspects in the city are things we need to look at. However, in the light of increasing disaster risk, managing climate change impact in the light of current urbanisation patterns becomes a key concern, and thus land use planning in a city needs to take this into account.
SDG targets 11.4 (safeguarding cultural and natural heritage) and 11.5 (reducing impacts of disasters, especially floods), 11.6 (air quality and waste) and 11.7 (safe, open and green spaces for all groups) all emphasize that for a city to be sustainable, these aspects need to be considered.
Source - Department of Meteorology
Here is the change in the annual values of air temprature from 2009 to 2013. According to the Batticaloa Observatory station, air temprature in the area is calculated separately for each month and more information can be downloaded from the following detailed statistics.
Health conditions (mortality, morbidity, disability) depend not just on standards of living, but on the actual performance of health systems themselves.
| Average budget allocation | Nil |
| Average expenditure | Nil |
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
Budget allocation for prevention of communibable diseases was not available for the year 2020.
| Number of children covered | Nil |
| Number of mothers covered | Nil |
| Total number of functioning centers | Nil |
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
Batticaloa Municipal Council has not initiate child and monther care services.
Source - Batticaloa Municipal Council
Within the Batticaloa Municipal area there are 30000 households and all the households have toilet facilities.
Cities are dynamic engines which are driven on diverse functions and performances. This space is arranged to visualise the diversity which forms the city.
| Availability of LAPDP Plan for 2016/2017 | Yes |
| No. of staff available with the knowledge on Geographical Information Systems | 3 |
| No. of trainings offered to the staff in 2016/2017 in procurement | 4 |
| Total no of staff trained in 2016 and 2017 in procurement | 11 |
| Amount of civil/service procurement handled in 2016 | 12 |
| Amount of civil/services procurement handled in 2017 | 15 |
| No. of trainings offered to the staff in 2016/2017 related to social protection | 5 |
| Total no of staff trained in 2016 and 2017 in social protection | 14 |
| No. of projects implemented with social safeguard measures in 2016/2017 | 2 |
| No. o trainings offered to the staff in 2016/2017 related to Environmental Management | 2 |
| Total no f staff trained in 2016 and 2017 in Environmental Management | 4 |
| No. of projects implemented with environmental management plan in 2016/2017 | 4 |
Source - Municipal Council Batticaloa
The above table shows the number of trainings provided to the staff of Batticaloa Municipal Council for enhancing the knowledge and skills of the staff.
Batticaloa Municipal Council area:
Batticaloa Municipal Council covers an area of 3809.12 hectares. (Data Source _ Survey Department)
Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Distribution of Grama Niladhari Divisions in Batticaloa Municipal Council:
Further details related to its 50 Grama Niladhari Divisions can be seen by downloading the map. (Data Source: Survey Department)
Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Road Map of Batticaloa Municipal Council:
The road map for Batticaloa Municipal Council shows information on the road classifications. Road names are visible in the detailed layer which can be downloaded. This has been updated in 2020.(Data Source _ Openstreetmap)
Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Building Map of Batticaloa Municipal Council:
The location of the buildings is given here and some of the main buildings are included with the use of it.(Data Source _ Openstreetmap)
Download Map Here Download Data Layer Here
Proper management of land, a scarce resource, can bring about many benefits. This is of great importance especially in urban areas.
It is timely to figure out how land is allocated and being used for what purpose in our cities today. In order to create well planned cities with a futuristic vision, having a better understanding of current land use is imperative.
Land use maps are categorized into 36 sub-categories under two types – built-up and non built-up. The extent of land in each of these sub categories are indicated below.
The Batticaloa Municipal Council covers an area of 3809.12 hectares. There are 5o Grama Niladhari Divisions within that limits. (For detailed information, please refer to the thematic maps section under the City Information page)
The Batticaloa Municipal Council area, known as the major city in the Eastern Province, has a high built-up land area (1441.785 hectares) and it covers 38% of the total land area. Non built-up land is limited (2367 ha) which is just 62%.
The source of this spacial data is the Survey Department. This is a fairly old data file and should be further subdivided using land use verification to have more accurate information. I think this is enough just to get a rough idea.This is spatial data contributed to the creation of 1: 50000 land use maps.
The built-up land has been categorized under six main categories as residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, transport, public space, cultural and under construction. Non built-up land has been divided into six sub-categories as agriculture, water, forest, wetlands, coastal areas and barren lands. The built-up land is again divided into 30 subsections. (More information on the respective land use is listed below with charts and land area)
In all of the cities it can be identified that the higher densities are concentrated in the city centres and the expansion is taken place along the roads. The expansion pattern is shaped by the geography of the surrounding area.
The selection of the area for the urban expansion analysis was followed by several preliminary studies. Initially, the urban index values which was identified using the remote sensing information were studied in the respective municipal areas including a fringe area.
Before selecting interested area for the expansion analysis it should consider following facts
- Municipal boundary
- At least 2-3 km buffer around Municipal boundary
- Rough boundary where the physical urban character disappearing
In the remote sensing discipline, the values higher than 0 represent the built-up areas.The boundary for the fringe area was identified by getting the extent of urban expansion as well as a fine boundary where the high-density expansion become insignificant. The identified boundaries were projected on to the latest satellite images to assure the identified urban index values are in line with the existing building densities.
