ANDARAWEWA FARMERS FACE MAHAWELI EVICTION

DECADES-LONG TENURE ON ANCESTRAL LANDS HANGS IN THE BALANCE AS A GOVERNMENT EVICTION NOTICE LEAVES ANDARAWEWA FARMING COMMUNITY IN DEEP UNCERTAINTY

- By Pradeep Chaturanga Samarawickrama

In a deepening land dispute, more than 3,600 farming families in Sri Lanka's Vavuniya district have been ordered to vacate their lands by August 15. The farmers, who claim to have cultivated the land for over forty years and survived the civil war with army support, have received an official notice from the Mahaweli Zone L Authority to surrender what it claims is unauthorised possession of government property. The directive has sparked widespread anxiety and prompted an appeal for help from community leaders.

Around 3,630 farming families living in the Vavuniya district - namely Bogaswewa 1, Bogaswewa 2, Namalgama, Salalihini gama, and Nandimithragama who have been cultivating these lands for over forty year claim their future is uncertain.

They claimed even during the period of the ethnic war, despite threats from the LTTE they continued to cultivate paddy fields. According to the villagers, the Sri Lankan Army supported them through these difficult times, providing clean water, food, and fertilizer.

They fled the area in 1985 after an LTTE attack in 1985, but returned in 2010 once the war ended. They said they returned with help extended by then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

It's not just where they grow rice. It’s where they have built homes, raised children, and survived the war they said.

The families say, paddy cultivation began as far back as 1955 under the Andarawewa Tank. They claim in 1980, the Vavuniya District Secretariat officially handed over the land to the farmers.

Recently, officers of Mahaweli Zone L officially issued a removal notice on July 7, 2025, to residents for allegedly occupying government land. The letter, signed by an Engineer of the Authority and addressed to a resident called Bimal Dharmadasa.

According to the notice, Dharmadasa was instructed to hand over unauthorised possession of a specific plot of government land, detailed in the attached annexure.