Plans are underway to construct a 61 foot tall statue of the Buddha in Nainativu, said Northern Provincial Councillors Vinthan Kanagaratnam and Balachandran Gajatheepan in an interview to TamilNet this week.
Following a fact finding mission to the islet, which has been the site of reported rapid Sinhalisation, the councillors stated that they were under pressure from the Sri Lankan navy to welcome plans for the construction of the statue.
The Sri Lankan navy took part in a Buddhist ceremony in Nainativu in November, where the Commander of the Navy laid the foundation stone for the new statue of the Buddha to be built. The Northern Provincial Council also passed a resolution last year demanding the revocation of the change in name of the island Nainativu to the Sinhala name, Nagapattina.
The councillors said the issue would be raised this week in a meeting of the Northern Provincial Council.
