Post war economic development: a case study of ampara district in the eastern province of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Eastern province is located in the east part of coastal region of Sri Lanka. It is one o f the richest provinces in terms of hs resources during pre-war situation. Eastern province is included three districts as Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee and it has an area of 9950 km2 with a 2010 population of 1,561,000. This province contributes IS per cent and 7.5 per cent of total area and total population of Sri Lanka, respectively. GDP contribution of eastern province is 6 per cent to the national level in 2010 (Central Bank, 2011). Ampara is one of the three districts of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Ampara district, until 1961, was the south eastern part of Batticaloa district. Then, in 1961, Ampara was carved out as a separate district. Ampara District has an area of 4431.4 km2 with a 2010 population of 668,170 consisting of the Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil communities. These ethnic communities are living in the district with ethnic ratios of 42.53 per cent Muslim, 38.88 per cent Sinhala, 18.39 per cent Tamils and 0.20 per cent others. The main livelihood opportunity of the people in the district is agriculture, especially paddy cultivation. As Ampara district is situated in the dry zone of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, the conditions of climate are varied on the basis of their physical aspects. The mean temperature in the district was 28.3° C in 2010. Rainfall is the main source of water available in the district of Ampara, with an average of 1600 m.m-2500m.m rainfall in a year. (Planning Secretariat, Ampara, 2010).