Tamil farmers from Mulliativu protested earlier this week against the continuation of illegal sand mining conducted by the Sri Lankan Forest Department in the farming lands of Puthukkudiyiruppu West.
The protests took place last Friday in front of Puthukkudiyiruppu Police Station whence the protesters marched to the office of the Divisional Secretariat.
They submitted a petition to the Assistant Divisional Secretary detailing their grievances. The land in question has been used for agriculture since 1972 and the farmers still possess documents that give them the title to their land.
However, following the end of the armed conflict, the Forest Department demarcated the boundaries of the land in order to seize and has prevented farmers from tilling their land since 2012.
Despite several appeals made to development schemes by farmers, they have not been allowed to return to their land. At this stage, the farmers lament that their land has been subjected to intensive sand mining causing it to lose its fertility.
In their petition, they requested the authorities to intervene in the situation and deliver a solution.
