Maalaanoor is located south of Kokku'laay lagoon located across the border between the Northern and the Eastern Provinces [Satellite image courtesy: Google Earth. Legend by TamilNet]
Shown within the box is the target area of Colombo discussed in the feature
The location of Kokku'laay village and lagoon. [Satellite map courtesy: Google Earth]
The lands belonging to Road Development Authority (RDA) and the SL Forest Department have also been absorbed into the colony as well as the deed and permit lands of private land-owners.
Tamil-speaking Muslim activists in Pulmoaddai blamed the Sinhala extremist monk, Panamure Thilakawansa thero, who has vowed to Sinhala-Buddhicise the Pulmoaddai area, as an active promoter of the Sinhala colony.
The Muslim villagers have been confronting the monk through lawsuits as well as political pressure against the expansion of the so-called “Shanthipura Rajamaha Vihara,” which was being schemed near Maalaanoor in 2014-2015.
The latest intruders are from outside the district. They were seen clearing the jungles at the presence of SL Forest Department guards, news sources in Pulmoaddai said.
The SL military from the 27th Battalion of the Gajaba Regiment of the occupying SL Army was providing security to the settlers as well as the SL Police, they said.
Informed civil sources in Pulmoaddai said that the SL authorities in Colombo, including the UNP Minister Sajith Premadasa, were behind the allocation of five-lakhs worth housing scheme per settler family.
A Sinhala GS officer, who doesn't belong to Pulmoaddai, was interacting with the settlers, the civil sources said.
The entrance to 27th Battalion Gajaba Regiment base at 13th Mile Post [Screenshot from Google Street View]
Furthermore, the SL Governor of Eastern Province Rohitha Bogollagama has instructed the Divisional Secretary of Kuchchave'li not to entertain complaints against the encroachment, the civil sources said.
Maalanoor is located between the 12th Mile Post and the 13th Mile Post.
The 27th Battalion of the Gajaba Regiment of the SL Army is situated at the 13th Mile Post (22 km post) on Anuradhapura - Pulmoaddai Road.
The so-called ‘Shanthipura Rajamaha Vihara’ is located between the military base and the colony.
Buddha statue placed at the junction located between Maalaanoor and Shanthipura ‘Rajamaha Vihara’ on Anuradhapura - Pulmoaddai Road [Screenshot from Google Street View]
Another Buddha statue opposite Shanthipura ‘Rajamaha Vihara’ [Screenshot from Google Street View]
In a video interview to TamilNet in July 2017, former Village Officer (GS) Abdul Salam narrated how the land grab in Pulmoaddai has been systematically stepped up and jointly waged by SL ministries, departments, Sinhala Army, Navy, STF commandos, Buddhist monks, ‘home guards’ paramilitary and the encroachers from bordering divisions of Trincomalee and Anurahapura since 2010. The interview is reproduced below:
A hand-drawn map by Muslim grassroots activists in Pulmoaddai, detailing the Sinhalaicisation and Buddhicisation targeting Pulmoaddai
