Villagers stop illegal sand excavation in Vadamaraadchi East

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 October 2010, 05:46 GMT]
The people of Kuddaththanai East in Vadamaraadchi protesting against the illegal sand excavation in their villages by persons of ‘Maheswary Funds’, an organ of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), stopped the men and vehicles excavating Friday, sources in Vadamaraadchi said. Indiscriminate excavation of sand has caused seepage of sea water into their village submerging the public crematorium and the villages too will be submerged if the sand excavation is not stopped, the protestors said. Maheswary Funds representatives joined by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) personnel and EPDP men who arrived at the scene had to agree to suspend the excavation for two days. The villagers will continue their united protest unless the excavation is stopped completely, the protestors said.

Sri Lanka Department of Geological Survey & Mine Bureau (GSMB) officials who arrived in August in Jaffna to conduct a survey in Vadamaraadchi East where indiscriminate excavation of sand causes seepage of sea water had to stop their work due to interference by Sri Lanka minister Douglas Devananda, leader of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), sources in Vadamaraadchi said.

The EPDP firm called ‘Maheswary Funds’, named after assassinated EPDP organizer Maheswaray Vealautham, has procured exclusive rights to excavate sand in Vadamaraadchi and is alleged of making millions of rupees as profits, the sources added.

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