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Grama Niladharis across the Kilinochchi district will wear black armbands for one week after one of their colleagues was allegedly assaulted by National People’s Power (NPP) parliamentarian Karunananthan Ilankumaran during ongoing flood-relief efforts.
The incident took place on Saturday 29 November at around 6.10 p.m. at the welfare centre operating inside Kilinochchi/Paranthan Hindu Maha Vidyalayam. According to the United Grama Niladhari Association – Kilinochchi District Branch, Umayalpuram Grama Niladhari Thiyagaraja Kalairuban was attacked while carrying out duties related to disaster-relief coordination.
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Following an emergency meeting, the district association resolved that all Grama Niladharis in Kilinochchi would wear black armbands from today as a public sign of protest. The association stated that this decision was taken reluctantly, given the urgent humanitarian work still underway across the district.
They added that stronger action would follow if a “fair and lawful solution” was not provided.
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Grama Niladharis in Jaffna also wore black armbands today to express solidarity with their Kilinochchi colleagues.
In Velanai, a separate group of Grama Sevaks staged a protest outside the Pradeshiya Sabha building despite emergency regulations remaining in force. Wearing black ribbons, they condemned the alleged assault and demanded swift disciplinary action.
The Velanai Grama Sevaks said they had been compelled to take to the streets because the incident targeted an essential frontline official at a time when vast parts of the Tamil homeland remain submerged and dependent on coordinated relief.
According to protesting officials, the confrontation began when the NPP parliamentarian attempted to distribute cooked meal parcels brought from outside to flood-relief centres in Paranthan. Grama Niladharis stated that standard procedure requires such food items to be checked by Public Health Inspectors to ensure they are safe for consumption.
They allege that the MP “arbitrarily tried to distribute them”, leading to an argument during which the Grama Niladhari was assaulted.
A complaint has been filed with Sri Lankan police.
The protest comes as severe flooding continues to affect Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar, with civil servants already overstretched while responding to thousands of displaced families across the North-East.