The occupying Sri Lanka Army in Batticaloa declared on Wednesday that it has taken over around 3500 acres of graze land located in Koa’ralaipttu South DS division in Batticaloa district for military purposes proclaiming the area as High Security Zone (HSZ). The SL Army has ordered the dairy farmers to remove their cattle immediately away from the lands. The said land was declared graze land by gazette notification in the year 1978. While the Batticaloa SLA Brigadier has said that the graze land area declared HSZ had been taken over by the SLA for military training purpose, Tamil farmers in the area complain say that the SLA move in declaring the area as HSZ was aimed at agricultural colonization by the Sinhalese with military protection.
Affected dairy farmers have complained to the District Government Agent, Divisional Secretary concerned and District Assistant Director of Agriculture for relief.
The SLA camped in Mathavanaikandam had directed that no one should enter the newly declared HSZ.
Cultivators and dairy farmers are now in a quandary to do with their cattle without graze land and had complained to Ravindran, a ‘coordinating secretary’ of the Deputy Resettlement Minister and paramilitary operative Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan. However, when Mr. Ravindran took contact with the SLA Brigadier in Batticaloa, he was told that the area was obtained for ‘training purposes’.
Maa-thava’naik-ka’ndam, Ma’n-thi’ndi, Mayilaththa-madu and Moazhil-va’lai are the names of the tracts of the lands that have been subjected to land grab by the SLA at Koa’ralaippattu South DS division.
The area has been maintained as graze land as notified in the gazette since the times of Kalkudaa MP Thevangayam n 1978.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow TNN on Facebook and Twitter )