Local Tamils are protesting the ongoing illegal construction of a Buddhist temple at Kurunthumalai, an ancient Tamil temple site.
Sinhala Buddhist monks aided by the Sri Lankan archeology department are constructing the shrine in defiance of a court order which states no changes could be made to the site. The archaeology department have used the guise of 'excavation' work to assist Sinhala Buddhist monks to erect a Buddhist shrine.
The protesters demanded that the construction be halted immediately and that the land be returned to its rightful owners. There was a heavy deployment of Sri Lankan police at the protest in anticipation of MP Udaya Gammanpilla's visit to the site today. Gammanpilla is a Sinhalese Buddhist politician who has been a vocal supporter of the construction of the temple.
The protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations against the construction of the temple.