.jpeg)
The acting leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), C. V. K. Sivagnanam, has written to the Northern Province Governor N. Vethanayagan urging clarity and protection over the administration of Nallur Sangilian Park in Jaffna, amid growing concerns about state interference in municipal lands.
In his letter, Sivagnanam detailed the park’s geographical and administrative history, noting that Nallur Sangilian Park lies on the eastern side of the Jaffna–Point Pedro Road and has long been under the authority of the Jaffna Municipal Council.
He explained that until 1989, the stretch of road known as Chemmani Road extended from the church to the north up to the Point Pedro Road. To its south, and on the eastern side of Point Pedro Road, were the Muthirai Market and a series of shops leased northwards by the Municipal Council.
Sivagnanam stated that in 1989, the section of Chemmani Road directly connecting to the church was realigned as a straight route, incorporating privately owned plots on its southern side as the new boundary. This realignment consolidated the land north of the road, known as Chettiyar Garden, into a single property with a newly defined northern limit.
He noted that the area has consistently remained under the administration of the Jaffna Municipal Council, adding that the 1966 survey map already designated the location as a market area. As a matter of law, he emphasised, the management of markets across Sri Lanka falls under local government jurisdiction, not provincial or central authorities.
Sivagnanam further stated that the land in question lies within the fifth division of the Jaffna Municipal Council, officially identified as ‘Sangili Thoppu’, reiterating that its ownership and governance rest firmly with the local council.
The ITAK leader’s intervention follows increasing tension between local Tamil authorities and central government departments over land administration in Jaffna, where public lands and heritage sites have frequently been reclaimed or repurposed without local consent.
