A District development committee meeting was held in Kilinochchi on December 26th where various development plans were discussed among the committee members.
Initially, a tribute was paid to the family members who lost their lives in the tsunami. Following this, various issues were discussed, including lands under the control of the military, the increasing number of liquor stores in the district, and illegal sand mining.
The meeting was held under the joint leadership of Minister of Fisheries R. Chandrasekar and Governor of the Northern Province N. Vedanayagam at the Kilinochchi District Secretariat Conference Hall.
The committee meeting was attended by members of Parliament Sivagnanam Shritharan, Rajeevan Jayachandramurthy , Shanmuganathan Sri Bhavanandaraja, Karunananthan Ilankumaran, Ramanathan Archchuna, former Member of Parliament Selvaraja Gajendran, Secretaries of Northern Provincial Ministries, department Heads, government officials, and representatives of public organizations.
According to Sri Lanka's Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC), the North-East has some of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in the country. Batticaloa district reports the highest percentage (37.8%), while Jaffna records 20.4%. The fear is that introducing more liquor outlets in such regions could further exacerbate existing social problems, caused by decades of genocide and an ongoing Sri Lankan military occupation.
During the meeting, Shritharan MP stated that "There is a Sri Lankan military memorial at the Kilinochchi Depot Junction. Behind the depot, there are two acres of land under the control of the military. A large cultural hall was previously built at the bus station area by former Minister Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, but it was demolished by the Sri Lankan military. The two acres of land behind the Kilinochchi Depot should be obtained through the District Secretariat, and the Sri Lankan military memorial should be removed. In its place, a cultural hall should be constructed in the name of former Minister Chandrasekaran. After the end of the war, such land is no longer necessary for the Sri Lankan military within this urban area." After that, Chandrasekar asked the military officials whether the land was private or government owned. While they hesitated to answer, he assured them that ‘Tamil Tigers are not going to rise up again’ and so he told them to provide accurate information to the government.
Subsequently, a tense situation arose when an unauthorized individual clashed with Member of Parliament Archchuna. The confrontation between them escalated, creating a charged atmosphere. However, Minister Chandrasekaran swiftly intervened, effectively diffusing the tension and restoring order to the meeting. This incident has raised concerns about security measures and the behavior expected at such public gatherings, with officials stressing the importance of maintaining decorum and order in future sessions.
Additionally, it was informed that action is being taken to completely ban illegal sand mining in the Kowtharimunai area. A decision was made in today's development committee meeting to entirely prohibit the granting of permits for sand extraction in the area in the future, as sand mining in this region was found to be affecting the coastal resources and the people, posing potential harm.
