Mannar District ( Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam; ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. 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 capital of the district is Mannar, which is located on Mannar Island.
History
Between the 5th century BC and 13th century AD, what is now Mannar District was part of Rajarata. Parts Mannar District were thereafter part of the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom. The district then came under Portuguese, Dutch and British control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of Ceylon. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. The district was part of the Tamil administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces. Mannar District, together with Jaffna District and Vanni District, formed the new Northern Province.
At the time that Ceylon gained independence, Mannar was one of the three districts located in the Northern Province. Manthai East division was transferred to newly created Mullaitivu District in September 1978.
Much of Mannar District was under the control of rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for many years during the civil war. The entire district was recaptured by the Sri Lankan military in 2008.
Geography
Mannar District is located in the north west of Sri Lanka in the Northern Province. It has an area of .
Geology, soil and water
Murunkan (English = cracked earth) is due to the black clay surface which is cracked while dry, is the place where the Giant's Tank is situated. It has montmorillonite clay and is the only place in Sri Lanka where this kind of clay can be obtained. This clay is used in making cement.
Aruvi Aru is the second longest river in Sri Lanka and runs through Mannar and Anuradhapura districts.
Mannar has artesian springs and aquifers. These water supply comes from Sri Lanka's central areas. The Northern Province has a supply of fresh water from aquifers and it was used in successful cultivation. It only exists in the areas where red yellow latosol exists. These types of aquifers do not exist where reddish brown earth is found. The rest of the Vanni area is void of perennial supply of fresh water.
Flora and fauna
Mannar District is unique in its vegetation and wildlife, contrasting with rest of Sri Lanka.
Mannar Island is one of the few places in Sri Lanka where baobab trees thrive. Monkeys love the fruit and hence the tree is sometimes known as the monkey-bread tree.
The dugong is a medium-sized marine mammal which is found in Mannar Bay, Nachchikuda, Jaffna island and near Adam's Bridge. IUCN conservation status is vulnerable because of over-hunting for food and accidental capture in fishing nets.
A critically endangered tarantula species known as Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica was first found from Sri Lanka in Mannar region. This was the first time that the spider was recorded from outside of India
The Vankalai Sanctuary for birds, internationally recognised as an important area for wetland birds under the Ramsar Convention, is on the mainland just to the south of Mannar Island.
Administrative units
Mannar District is divided into 5 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 153 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).
Demographics
Population
Mannar District's population was 99,051 in 2012. The population of the district is mostly Sri Lankan Tamil.
The population of the district, like the rest of the north and east of Sri Lanka, has been heavily affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people. Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to the West during the war. Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo. Most of the Sri Lankan Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the district fled to other parts of Sri Lanka or were forcibly expelled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, though most of them have returned to the district since the end of the civil war.