Almost 5000 acres of privately-owned land in Mullaitivu still remains occupied by Sri Lankan military forces, the district secretariat has revealed.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan president has reportedly issued a deadline to release all privately-owned lands in the North-East by December 31.
Responding to a private right to information request, the Mullaitivu district secretariat calculated that a total of 4859 acres remained under occupation, compared to 2891.75 that had been released.
Of the five divisions of the district, Karaithuraipatru (Maritimepattu) remained the most heavily occupied with over 4000 acres of the total occupation falling in this division.
The calculations for the five divisions were:
Division |
Total seized by tri-forces (acres) |
Land released (acres) |
Remaining (acres) |
Karaithuraipatru |
6809 |
2764 |
4045 |
Thunukkai |
429.25 |
0.25 |
429 |
Oddusuddan |
188 |
2 |
186 |
Puthukudiyiruppu |
284.5 |
115.5 |
169 |
Manthai East |
40 |
10 |
30 |
Total |
7750.75 |
2891.75 |
4859 |