Land appropriation by Colombo in Trincomalee district goes unabated

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 August 2012, 04:34 GMT]
In the latest land appropriation of the Colombo government to change the demography of the Trincomalee district, 94 Tamil families are forced to lose their properties that are located 9 km off north from Trincomalee city at Iluppaik-ku'lam GS division. The affected families have made representations to the Divisional Secretary who promised that the matter would be brought up to the notice of the SL Government Agent (SLGA) who is a Sinhalese. The SLGA is a retired Major General who is behind the planned appropriation of lands of Tamils in the district to settle down Sinhalese from the South.

The Tamil families have also made representations to the Trincomalee district parliamentarians.

Earlier, such land appropriations had been carried out by the Colombo government under the guise of tourist development and building business complexes along Champoor-Kandy road, Pulmoaddai- Kandy road and Anuradhapura-Kandy road with a view to bring down Sinhalese population to change the demography of the Trincomalee district.

Under the latest move, the Colombo government is appropriating the lands from 6th mile post at Pulmoaddai till the road ends joining with Anuradhapura - Ka'n'niyaa Road.

Tamil villagers have been residing in the area were provided with permits in 1972 by the Department of Land Development documenting that each family was owning an acre.

During the war, the occupying Sri Lanka Army put up a 84-feet width road in 2006. Now the Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority has taken steps to widen the road further by 25 feet on both sides.

Last Wednesday, Sri Lankan Road Development Authority officials had earmarked the boundary thus appropriating the land now being used by Tamils for their livelihood.

Many of the 94 families are losing quarter or half an acre. Some are losing their whole land and are forced to find alternative site.

Colombo's civil authority officials have not provided any alternative sites to these families thus leaving them on the road.