The Hon. K. Kader Masthan

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, I wish to raise a few points in this debate on the Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Bill.

¶ 03 In our Vanni District, long ravaged by war, people initially faced major difficulties even to obtain main electricity connections. Today many still cannot connect despite paying fees because of a lack of insulators, utility poles and wires. In Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu, people pay but are told materials are unavailable. Please arrange supplies quickly and provide connections.

¶ 04 For weeks there have been daily power cuts in Mannar—5-6 hours a day, sometimes even 10-12 hours—causing severe hardship. People ask, “What are our representatives doing?” If outages are for repairs, it is acceptable, but we do not know on what basis these cuts occur. Initially, when wind power stations were set up in Mannar, it was said the area would receive reliable power. That has not happened.

¶ 05 People now strongly oppose wind power because of perceived damages. Hence protests and shutdowns. After our discussion with the Minister, a special meeting is to be held tomorrow; I hope for a good outcome.

¶ 06 People in Mannar Island say the island’s land is not suitable for wind plants; do it in other parts of Mannar District—along the A-32 near Nayaaruveli, Mundampitty, Pallathuvelli, Pattruveli where land is available. Do not locate on the island; otherwise, fisheries will be ruined. Heavy flooding also occurs. I expect these issues to be considered at tomorrow’s special meeting.

¶ 07 In Muthunagar, Trincomalee District, about 1,000 acres long cultivated by farmers for over 50 years are affected because lands were allocated to companies through CEB arrangements—an injustice. Protests were met with painful experiences. If resolved correctly then, farmers would not have suffered. They were told to cultivate elsewhere instead of their traditional lands. Although various governments gazetted those lands in the past, they did not disturb the farmers. You promised to free them if you came to power, but now you are facilitating companies and creating problems.

¶ 08 Please, if you give 300 acres to the company, then give the rest across the road to the farmers with proper documentation. There are homes, mosques, schools and temples there. After the war, 200–300-metre village roads were given connections; now houses near main roads must pay lump sums for connection, which they cannot afford. Restore free or affordable connections as before. About 2,500 families are waiting for free connections—please arrange these.

¶ 09 Thank you.