Gurunagar displaced urge SLA to vacate their houses

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 August 2005, 20:34 GMT]
Civil groups in Gurunagar in Jaffna town have requested the Jaffna area command of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in writing to release their houses and lands occupied by the soldiers since 1996 as displaced families from the coastal areas are living in state lands without basic facilities, sources said.

Civil groups said in their memoranda that since 1996-military operation, the coastal areas of Gurunagar are declared high security zone and more than 100 houses and places of worships are occupied by SLA soldiers.

SLA soldiers also occupy a section of the five-storied housing complex, which was given for the people of Gurunagar to ease their housing problem. The displaced families from these places are now living in government lands, putting up small huts without any basic facilities. Now the civil authorities too have ordered them to leave these lands. As a result of this, they are in a dilemma to find alternate lands for them to live, civil groups said in their memoranda to the SLA command.

"Therefore we request that the SLA should vacate the portion they are in occupation of the five storied Gurunagar housing complex and also the residential houses and places of worships they are staying along the coastline of Gurunagar," said the civil groups in their memoranda.