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Displaced families, military and companies seek Menik Farm land
Businessmen and foreign investors are among those who want to secure plots of land in the one-time largest camp for the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Vavuniya, a Minister said yesterday.
The 6,000 acre land at Menik Farm in Chettikulam has been sealed off after all displaced people were moved out last week until a final decision is taken regarding the land allocation, Lands Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon said.
He said the Government had been receiving requests for allocation of lands from state institutions, businessmen and foreign investors and these were being studied.
For more than three years these displaced people had lived in the safety and security of the Menik Farm at Chettikulam in Vavuniya. On Monday, they were told to leave for resettlement in other areas and the camp was closed down. Our picture shows one of the women breaking down in tears as she apparently wonders what awaits them in the future. Pic by Priyantha Hewage
An official delegation including Ministry Secretary Ashoka Peiris and Provincial Lands Commissioner P. Dayananda met Vavuniya District Secretary Bandula Harishchandra to discuss the requests made.
Mr. Peiris said there had also been a request from the military to allocate 200 acres which the Army has been using as a farming school. Another request had been made by the Department of Archeology to obtain 40 acres to set up an archeological site.
The secretary said there was another request for land to set up an Army training camp. He said a leading cement company was also among the applicants.
Meanwhile, a senior official attached to the Chettikulam Divisional Secretary’s office said there were 45 families who originally lived in the Menik Farm area and they wanted to return.
He said these families were requesting that their land be returned to them. Area politicians have called on the Government to distribute the land among the homeless and landless local residents. They said some of the people had gone to India and might return soon.
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