110 families from Kepapilavu are to be resettled permanently in the Suriyapuram forest areas where they are currently staying, despite being promised that they could return to their own homes within two months, reported Jaffna newspaper Uthayan.
As the Suriyapuram forests belong to the government, procedures have begun to divide the land between the families, according to Mullaitivu’s District Government Agent, N Vethanayagan.
The families were the last of the IDPs to leave the Manik Farm camp when it closed in late September, and were then moved to temporary shelters in the Suriyapuram forest region, close to Nandikadal.
When asked whether the families would be allowed to return to their homes within two months, the GA instead stated
“They are to be settled permanently in the location where they are currently staying. All due arrangements for this are currently underway. Because the region is government land, it will be divided among the families.”
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