More than a hundred Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers are engaged in building a Buddhist Vihara in Madaththadi Chanthi (Water Tank Junction) next to Jaffna holy Family Convent along A9 road, sources in Jaffna said. When the matter was brought to the notice of Minister Douglas Devananda he said that it was the SLA who is constructing the Buddhist Vihara and not the government. Civil society representatives in Jaffna, however, said that the SLA is building the Buddhist temple with the blessing of the government as it had already built several Buddhist places of worship with the statue of Buddha along A9 road in Vanni.
Madaththadi Chanti was the place where the main SLA sentry post complex had been located along A9 road in Jaffna town.
The Buddhist temple is now being built in the above place from which the SLA sentry posts had been removed recently.
Now SLA is erecting permanent sentry posts inside the premises of Jaffna Holy Family Convent, the sources said.
SLA had simillarly built Buddhist places of worship near Naga Vihara in Aariyaku’lam junction in Jaffna without the required permission from Jaffna Municipality Council authorities.
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