Army attempts land acquisition in Jaffna using travel restrictions 

People have complained that land surveying was carried out by the Army Engineering Division with the intention of acquiring public lands in the Mandalay area under the Maruthangeni Divisional Secretariat in the Jaffna District.

This news has been published by https://pagetamil.com/ published from Jaffna with sources.

The landowners allege that the incident took place when the Army Engineering Division carried out a land survey  which had to be carried out by the Land Survey Department without giving proper notice to the public, yesterday using COVID 19 travel restrictions in place.

Landowners say their lands have been measured and identified.

The lands have been surveyed for a distance of 300 meters to the east of the Mandalai Pillaiyar Temple.

The Army has a master plan to acquire 700 acres of land near the Mandalai Pillaiyar Temple under the Maruthangeni Divisional Secretariat. At present approximately 300 acres have been acquired and a vast army base has been set up. This includes a large number of private lands.

This land acquisition attempt has taken place several times. However, Tamil political leaders staged a protest and stopped it. Also, the case was filed in the High Court.

The fertile lands of Vadamarachchi East are currently being surveyed and taken over by the military during the travel embargo period. Previously large-scale agricultural production, including grapes, took place in these areas.