Mahaweli Authority will deal with encroachers in Mailathamadu – Eastern Province Governor

Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondman at a press briefing held today (27) in Colombo, said that the Mahaweli Authority will take action against farmers who have encroached on arable land in Mailathamdu in Batticaloa district irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or social standing.

He said that the the problem arose when the original settlers who were forced to leave the area during the civil uprising returned after the war had ended. he added that 300 to 400 additional families had come to Mailathamadu and encroached on land owned by the Mahaweli Authority thus tipping the equilibrium between agricultural farmers and dairy farmers in the area.

The Governor said that his duty was to maintain peace in the area and regretted that the problem was being turned into an ethnic and religious issue.