A Buddha statue has been removed in Amparai after it was secretly erected on Friday night by a group of Buddhist monks.
On Saturday, locals from villages of Sangamankandi and Thandiyadi staged a protest condemning the erection of the Buddha statue and called for it's immediate removal. The protesters were also joined by Pottuvil Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman A. Rahim, Karaitivu Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jayasiril and Thirukovil Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Kamalarajan.
A Buddhist monk reportedly told the villagers that the area belonged to them, therefore they would not be removing the statue.
However, on Sunday morning when the protesters returned to the site, the Buddha statue had been removed while the Buddhist flags remained at the site.
The Tamil homeland has been under intense Sinhalisation for decades but in recent years, there has been a rise in the 'rediscoveries' of Sinhala Buddhist sites by Sri Lanka's Department of Archaeology as a well as land settlement and development policies to alter the demogrpahocs of the North-East.