Sri Jayewardenapura-Kotte, also known as Kotte, is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. It is located at 6° 54' north, 79° 54' east (6.9, 79.9), 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. The population is 115,826 (2001 census). Nickname: {{{nickname}}} Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: [2] Location [[Image:|250px|Location of Colombo]] Government Colombo Division, Colombo District Mayor Prassanna Gunawardena (United National Party) Geographical characteristics Area 14. ... The Parliament of Sri Lanka is a unicameral 225-member legislature elected by universal suffrage and proportional representation for a six-year term. ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

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 Chakravarthy 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. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta (February 24, 1304 - 1377) was a Moroccan Berber traveller and explorer. ... Kurunegala is the capital of the North Western Province in Sri Lanka. ...

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). The moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, England Moats were deep and wide water-filled trenches, excavated to provide a barrier against attack upon castle ramparts or other fortifications. ... Ramparts is a radical squatted social centre in East London. ... Laterite is a red-colored clay rich soil found in the tropics and subtropics. ...

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. Events March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded April 27 - Cebu City is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. ...

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. Urbanization is the degree of or increase in urban character or nature. ...

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 JR Jayewardene. Dredging is the process by which either new waterways are created or existing waterways are deepened. ... An acre is an English unit of area. ...

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

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 of as the first Mayor. Symbol of the Urban Council from its inception in the 1960s until its abolishment in 1999. ... Nickname: {{{nickname}}} Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: [2] Location [[Image:|250px|Location of Colombo]] Government Colombo Division, Colombo District Mayor Prassanna Gunawardena (United National Party) Geographical characteristics Area 14. ...

At present the Mayor is JM Somadasa. 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.

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. Nugegoda is one of the mostly densely populate suburbs of Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. ... CTB may stand for: color temperature blue, in photography a specific color of blue useful for correcting Tungsten light sources to sunlight. ...