While President Ranil Wickremesinghe was attending the 149th anniversary celebration of Chenkaladi Madhya Maha Vidyalaya in Batticaloa yesterday (8), livestock farmers staged a protest demanding the removal of encroachers from their pasture land.
During the event, the President unveiled an ambitious 10-year initiative aimed at boosting agriculture and tourism in the Eastern Province, with a focus on the development of Trincomalee.
There were protesters from two communities, one led by ITAK MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, who led a group of MPs and other organisations close to a venue where the President was attending an event in the school.
The issue has been highlighted since the Mahaweli Development Authority settled people for corn cultivation on pastoral land.
Protesters wanted to meet the President to express their grievances but Police objected and asked the protestors to leave the site which led to a tense situation between the Police and the public. The President later met some State officials to discuss the issue related to pastoral land. However, protesters said that discussions were futile as he did not speak to them. Banners were destroyed and several women were injured in the commotion with the Police
Rasamanickam accused the Government of allowing chena cultivators to illegally encroach on grazing land in the Mayilathamadu District, traditionally used by cattle farmers during the period, October to February.
“The State is responsible for capturing land for farming purposes without paying adequate heed to the 200,000 cattle that use the land for grazing and produce 17,000 litres of organic milk daily,” said Rasamanickam.
Meanwhile, Ven. Ampitiye Sumanarathana Thera protested by sitting on the road and confronted Police urging that pastoral land be given to corn cultivators.
BY Sulochana Ramiah Mohan