Vanni District parliamentarian Thurairasa Ravikaran has raised urgent concerns over what he described as an ongoing attempt by Sinhala groups to encroach on the ancestral lands of Tamil residents in Kokkuthoduvai 15th kattai, a border village in the Mullaitivu–Karaithuraipattu Divisional Secretariat Division.
Ravikaran warned that if state authorities fail to intervene, he will take direct action alongside local residents to halt the encroachment.
Speaking to the media after inspecting the area, Ravikaran said the Tamil families of Kokkuthoduvai were forcibly displaced by the military in 1984, leaving behind more than a hundred acres of land traditionally used for small-grain cultivation. Although the families returned in 2011, Sri Lanka’s Forest Department and Wildlife Department had already seized control of these lands, demarcating boundaries and preventing the rightful owners from reclaiming them.
Local residents have repeatedly protested and appealed for the release of their cultivation lands, yet no steps have been taken. Instead, Ravikaran noted that seasonal fishermen from the South, who stay temporarily in the Kokkilai estuary during fishing months, are now attempting to occupy these lands by tying ropes and wires to divide plots. Villagers strongly resisted these efforts.
He added that these individuals return home after the fishing season, yet are attempting to settle permanently on Tamil owned lands on either side of the Kokkilai–Mullaitivu main road, despite the lands remaining under the control of state departments. Ravikaran confirmed the encroachment attempts during his visit and said he had received numerous complaints from affected families.
The MP stated that he has formally alerted the Karaithuraipattu Divisional Secretariat Land Officer and called for immediate action to halt the illegal occupation. He warned that if officials fail to protect the ancestral lands of Tamil residents, he and the local communities will act to prevent further encroachment.
The attempted takeover of Kokkuthoduvai lands forms part of a broader pattern across the Tamil homeland, where state-backed departments and Sinhala groups have been accused of facilitating demographic change and obstructing the return of displaced Tamil families.