Farmers in Muthunagar, Trincomalee, have entered the eighteenth consecutive day of a satyagraha protest, braving torrential rains as they continue to demand the return of their seized farmlands from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
The lands, which local farmers have cultivated for more than fifty-three years, were arbitrarily handed over to private companies by the SLPA for the construction of solar power projects. According to the protesters, more than 800 acres of farmland have been appropriated, with over 200 acres already cleared as part of the project. Ponds and irrigation channels have been filled in to facilitate the development, devastating local agriculture.
The Muthunagar Satyagraha, held outside the Trincomalee District Secretariat, has drawn growing public support, with members of the Women for Freedom Movement joining the farmers on Monday. They carried banners reading, “Let us unite with the struggle of the Muthunagar farmers.”
Farmers held placards with slogans including “Return to us the land that feeds us,” “Immediately reclaim the Muthunagar farmlands stolen from farmers and handed to corporations,” and “We will rise against the land and resource plunder by Indian companies.”
Despite repeated protests in front of the Presidential Secretariat and the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya’s Office in Colombo, the government has yet to deliver a resolution. Farmers recalled that during their last demonstration in Colombo, Amarasuriya had promised to resolve the matter within ten days — a promise that remains unfulfilled.
The protesters, supported by the All-Island Farmers’ Federation and the People’s Struggle Front, said they were verbally informed that officials would extend their review until 20 October 2025, claiming that more time was needed to collect information and process compensation. Authorities also reportedly pledged that compensation would be paid before the end of the year.
However, farmers remain deeply sceptical. “We have faced too many empty promises,” one protester said. “Even in July and September, officials gave conflicting statements.”
Reports suggest that out of 352 affected farmers, some who are currently abroad have been denied compensation, while others were told that only Sri Lankan government employees would receive assistance. Many families now fear permanent loss of their ancestral lands.
“We believed the Sri Lankan Prime Minister would stand by her word and grant us justice,” said another farmer. “But nothing has been done. We are only asking for the land that has fed our families for generations.”
The Muthunagar protest forms part of a wider pattern of land grabs and corporate-driven development in the Tamil North-East, where people continue to resist what they see as state-backed economic dispossession and militarised control of their lands.
