Army hands over occupied land in North to owners

Sri Lanka Army has made arrangements to release two square kilometers of land it occupied within the Palaly camp area in Jaffna to the owners.

Amid Hindu religious ceremonies at the Idayakkadu Pillayar Kovil on Tuesday (29) the Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe has handed over the land to the original residents of the area.

Prior to releasing the land, the Commander under a directive from the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya has made arrangements to de-mine the land area that was to be released. Troops of the Jaffna Security Forces unit have cleared the Kovil premises and the sides of the access road.

The area belonging to J/283 Idaikkadu GS Division and a part of J/284 Valalai GS Division was released to their original owners, a government statement said.

According to the government, approximately 1,085 members of 326 families will benefit from the released land.

Government Agent Jaffna Mrs. Emelda Sukumar, Kopay Divisional Secretary Mr. M. Pratheepan, senior Army officers and a large crowd of villagers also participated in the event.