Sarvodaya officials in North accused of swindle

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 November 2010, 08:47 GMT]
The farmers among the resettled families in Vanni accuse the officials of Sarvodaya for having sold them inferior quality seeds at a high price making huge profits for themselves, sources in Vanni said. The Sarvodaya officials buying black grams and other grains whole sale in Colombo market at low prices sell them in packets as quality seeds at high prices, the sources added. Meanwhile, the agricultural implements issued to the resettled people in Vanni are found to be of poor quality and unsuitable for use in Vanni, the sources said. The people of Vanni already rendered destitute by the war on Vanni are further cheated by unscrupulous men in organizations like Sarvodaya, the sources in Vanni said.

Initial investigation has revealed that around four million rupees had been swindled by the Sarovodaya local officials.

The seeds had been sold to people in Puthoor, Mathiyaamadu and Pu’liyangku’lam in Vavuniyaa district and in Thellippazhai and Koapaay in Jaffna district. They had also been sold to the famers in Mannaar district.

The seeds sold by Sarvodaya sown by the farmers investing a lot of money in their cultivation projects had failed to germinate.

The enraged farmers had demonstrated in front of the Sarvodaya offices in their respective areas.

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officers had intervened to save the Sarovodaya employees from being attacked by the farmers.