A team of parliamentarians visited the Omanthai-Kallikulam area in Vavuniya, following a complaint lodged by villagers and village organisations regarding excessive gravel excavations on the site which goes beyond what was permitted.
Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran, Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan, former Provincial Minister Sathyalingam paid visited the area on Monday evening.
Sumanthiran claimed that many who work with the government are involved in acts of environmental damage, such as the mass excavations in Vavuniya. “Deforestation and landslides are being carried out in excess of the permit given. Those involved in the excavation fled when we got here showing that the illegality of the digging of the soil. This situation is one of the worst in the country,” he stressed. He said this should be brought under control immediately.
Sumanthiran further commented that protests will be held in all districts the following day to protect the environment.
Illegal land activities continue to be carried out on both private and government lands in Vavuniya.
Another pertinent land issue is the landgrabs of Tamil landowners in the North-East of Sri Lanka. As highlighted by Jaffna parliamentarian C.V. Wigneswaran in the recent conference concerning the upsurge in landgrabs in North-East of the island, landgrabs persist under the guise of archaeological excavations, forest preservation sanctuaries and bird sanctuaries, and are often carried out by the Mahaweli Authority, archaeology, forest and wildlife departments and many others.
