The Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I welcome the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill. I wish to place on record certain matters concerning Mullaitivu, Mannar, and Vavuniya.

¶ 02 In Mullaitivu District, 17 people have drowned so far this year. On 01.06.2025, two schoolgirls—Rajitharan Krushika and Sarveswaran Rasmeela—drowned in the temple tank at Kumuzhamunai. On the same day, at Thamarai Kulam in Silawathai, two others—Rajasekar Nilanthhan and Sivanesan Pranavan—also drowned; three of the four were schoolchildren. As many students cannot swim, I urge that swimming pools be established in larger schools and that swimming lessons be provided.

¶ 03 On management service officer recruitment now being conducted at national level, I welcome the initiative but request that, where possible, vacancies in each district be filled by candidates from that district to avoid later difficulties—particularly in the Vanni (Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya).

¶ 04 Regarding Mannar District, I draw attention to dangerous conditions faced by the people of Vankalai due to coastal erosion. Vankalai comprises four GN divisions with about 10,000 people; agriculture and fisheries are the main livelihoods, with about 450 outboard engine boats. Severe erosion over recent years has caused major losses: three large coconut groves (about 2,000 trees), palmyra and other trees; fish huts, dwellings, and the fish market have been heavily damaged; the old hospital building has been lost to the sea. Fishermen cannot securely berth some 450 boats on shore. Immediate construction of sea defenses (breakwaters/embankments) is required to protect lives and livelihoods.

¶ 05 Illegal activities—use of dynamite, destruction of mangroves, and sand mining—must be stopped. At the Mannar District Coordinating Committee on 28.05.2025, the District Secretary stated that funds had been allocated for two protective structures. Along with fellow Hon. MPs Upali Samarasinghe, Mayilvaganam Jegatheeswaran, Rishad Bathiudeen, Kader Musthan, Ismail Muthu Mohamed, and the District Secretary, we inspected the affected areas. The people requested six additional protective structures. Given the risk to human safety, I urge prompt action. Similar unstable weather affects the Mutharipputhurai area; authorities must act with compassion. I also note that while embankments have been built for nearby military installations, none have been provided for the people.

¶ 06 In Mullaitivu, resettlement remains incomplete. During recent field visits in the Oddusuddan DS Division, people alleged that certain departments—the Archaeology Department, Forest Department, and Wildlife Department—are, contrary to law, alienating people’s land by declaring them forest or archaeological reserves via gazette, depriving original residents of their homesteads and paddy lands. People are being chased away from cultivation and residence, undermining their livelihoods, daily food, and children’s education.

¶ 07 In the Thanduvan GN Division of Oddusuddan, at the AC Farm village, 47 families lived until displacement in 1997 due to military operations. Although authorities state that resettlement in Mullaitivu has been completed since 2012, these families have still not been resettled. Their village has been gazetted—contrary to law—by the Forest Department as the “Thanduvan Reserved Forest.”