There were four and a half lakh cattles and 3200 farmers in Mailaththamadu, Madavanai area. There were 3200 people of which 980 were farmers and the rest lived as their servants and wage earners. Since 2011, Sinhalese people from the Mahaoya area in the Ampara district and Aranganwila, Dehiattakandiya area in the Polonnaruwa district have occupied this area and settled. These Sinhala settlers have invaded the pasture lands which were legally reserved as pasture lands. They are setting fire to the forest and pasture land, killing our cattles and attacking us as well. Most of the people who settled are retired from the army, and others have left the army. The Mahaweli Authority filed a case in the Eravur Court and the Batticaloa Court. They threatened the farmers and their livelihood. They broke the houses and chased the farmers away from Mailaththamadu.
We have tried many ways to prevent this but we could not do any of them. On 10.12.2020 which is the International Human Rights Day, the farmers and some lawyers together filed a writ petition in the Batticaloa High Court. We got some comfort through that writ petition. A case was also filed on the grounds that government officials were not fulfilling their duties to evict Sinhala settlers. The Mahaweli Authority agreed to evict the Sinhala Settlers with the judgment.
In the ninth month of 2023, we started the protest. No one helped us and today our struggle continues for 211 days. On 24.03.2024, the Minister of Mahaweli Authority called us and asked us what our problem was and we gave our demands as nine points. The last thing they asked us was when we would dismantle our protest tent. So far 4800 cattle have been killed. Due to this our milk production has been reduced to 60 percent. 6000 liters of milk per day in Mayilathan Madhavan Madu alone. We have been living here doing farming for generations for more than 60 years. We will continue our peaceful fighting until the authorities solve this issue permanently.
Dairy farmers
Mailaththamadu
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