Kotte

Sri Jayewardenapura-Kotte, (ශ්‍රී ජයවර්ධනපුර කෝට්ටේ in Sinhala, ஸ்ரீ ஜயவர்த்தனபுரம் கோட்டே in Tamil) also known as Kotte, is the capital of Sri Lanka. It is located beyond the eastern suburbs of the business capital Colombo. The Parliament of Sri Lanka has been based here since the formal inauguration of its new building on 29 April 1982. Kotte has a population of 115,826 (2001 census) and is part of the Colombo Metropolitan Region.

1 History
2 Legislature
3 Municipal structure
4 Demographics
5 Transport
6 External links

[edit] History

Kotte (meaning 'Fortress') was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kotte from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Situated in a marshland, it was founded on the banks of the Diyawanna Oya river as a fortress against invasions from the Jaffna Kingdom of Arya Chakaravarthi in the 13th century by a Tamil chief named Alagakkonara. Alagakkonara is mentioned by Ibn Batuta as ruling in Kurunegala, but other sources indicate that he was the Bandara (Guardian) of Raigama Korale (county) in the modern Kalutara District. Arya Chakravarthy's army was held by Alagakkonara in front of Kotte, while he defeated the enemy's invasion fleet at Panadura to the south-west.

Kotte was a jala durgha (water fortress), in the shape of a triangle, with the Diyawanna Oya marshes forming two long sides; along the shorter third (land) side a large moat (the 'inner moat') was dug. It was fortified with ramparts of kabook or laterite rock all round. The area outside the inner moat was called Pitakotte (outer fort), the area inside being Ethul Kotte (inner fort).

Later the city became the capital of the island, and was renamed Sri-Jaya-Vardhana-Pura-Kotte, meaning "the blessed fortress city of growing victory".

The Portuguese arrived on the island in 1505 and had control of the city by 1565. Failing to withstand repeated assaults by the forces of the neighbouring kingdom of Sitawaka (Avissawella), the city was abandoned by the Portuguese, who made Colombo their new capital.

The urbanisation of Kotte restarted in the 19th century. The archaeological remains were torn up and used as building materials (a process that continues) - some of it ending up in the Victoria Bridge, across the Kelani River.

[edit] Legislature

Image:Parliout.jpg

After being chosen as the new capital by the new government of 1977, a massive lake was formed by dredging the marshlands around the Diyawanna Oya. The new parliamentary buildings were built on Duwa, a 50,000 square metre (12 acre) island in the centre of the lake. The island (off Baddegana Road, Pita Kotte) had been used as a recreation and brawling spot for Portuguese soldiers in the last days of the Kotte era, alcohol being banned from the Royal City. It had belonged to E.W. Perera and had housed a chicken farm prior to being vested in the state. On 29 April 1982, the new parliamentary complex was declared open by President J.R. Jayawardene.

The process of relocating government institutions from the former capital of Colombo is still in progress.

[edit] Municipal structure

The Kotte Urban Development Council was created in the 1930s, with a modern building at Welikada. It was succeeded by the Kotte Urban Council, which had a large section of its area removed and tagged onto the Colombo Municipal Council ward of Borella. The Kotte Urban Council became the Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte Municipal Council in 1997, with Chandra Silva as the first Mayor.

There are 20 Members of the Municipal Council (MMCs), elected on proportional representation. There are 10 wards, but these are now merely polling divisions, without individual representation.

[edit] Demographics

Kotte is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural city. The population of Kotte is a mix of Sinhalese, Moors and Tamils. There are small communities of people with Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Malay and Indian origins living here. According to the census of 2001 the demographics by ethnicity and religion is as follows.

Source
	2001
Sinhalese	101,331
Sri Lankan Tamil	6,583
Indian Tamil	786
Sri Lankan Moor	4,031
Burgher	1,367
Malay	919
Sri Lankan Chetty	65
Baratha	57
Other	687
Total	115,826
Buddhist	93,364
Hindu	4,550
Islam	5,465
Roman Catholic	8,659
Other Christian	3,618
Other	170

[edit] Transport

The only major railway station is at Nugegoda, on the Kelani Valley Line. Also at Nugegoda is the city's main bus terminus. There are subsidiary bus stands at Pita Kotte and Welikada. The city is well served by buses and there is a major CTB bus depot at Udahamulla.

A Passenger boat service is being finalised and would commence adjacent to Parliament Junction at Bataramulla and end at the Wellawatte canal near Marine drive. Each journey would take around 30 minutes. It would have stations at the Kotte Marsh, Nawala, Open University, Apollo Hospital, Wellawatte, Duplication road and at St. Peter's College.

[edit] External links

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