The Hon. (Dr.) V.S. Radhakrishnan

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the emergency has been extended for three months to provide relief to those affected by the Ditha cyclone. However, in the estates, no such relief has reached people yet. The President said even if a roofing sheet flew off, Rs. 1,000,000 would be paid — but no one in the estates has received it. He plans to visit Nuwara Eliya on the 13th and take action; we welcome that.

¶ 02 The root problem in estates is lack of land ownership. Our core demand, long advanced by the Tamil Progressive Alliance, is land rights for estate-line communities. If our people gain land rights, many other issues will resolve.

¶ 03 We are also seeing assaults on estate workers by estate officials. At Neelagama in Ratnapura, thugs attacked residents; at Mokka Estate, an officer beat a guard; at Delmar Estate, a supervisor assaulted a worker. The Minister of Public Security said arrests have been made — thank you. But action must be even-handed: the law must be equal for all. If you act firmly against abusive estate authorities, you will safeguard your government. Do not forget estate workers are among your strongest voters.

¶ 04 On Tamil Nadu, Mr. Vijay appears poised to become Chief Minister, with Mr. Sengottaiyan’s support. Mr. Sengottaiyan contributed to Sri Lanka by donating books to Jaffna and Batticaloa libraries and attended MGR centenary events in Kandy. We hope continued ties will benefit Sri Lanka’s development.

¶ 05 In Nuwara Eliya, the potato season is being harmed. Imports and failure to set domestic floor prices are hurting farmers. Around 5,000 hectares are cultivated; it costs about Rs. 200 per kilogram to produce, but they are forced to sell at Rs. 190. I discussed this with Hon. Samarasinghe and the President; we request a stable solution and will fully support an effective plan.

¶ 06 A factory at Brookside Estate recently burned down; there was no fire engine nearby. Local authorities near industrial areas like Walapane and Ragala must be equipped with fire engines to respond quickly. Please attend to this.

¶ 07 Some boast of huge May Day crowds in Nuwara Eliya; we have all held many May Days. Do not exaggerate this year’s crowd as something extraordinary. Thank you.