Several civil society groups and the Up Country People’s Land Rights Movement staged a protest in Hatton this week, calling on the government to grant land ownership rights to plantation workers who have laboured for generations on Sri Lanka’s estates
Addressing the demonstrators, Thangavel Ganeshalingam, Convener of the Land Rights Movement, criticised successive governments for failing to provide freehold land to workers who, he said, have supported the national economy for over 200 years.
“We don’t need houses. Give us the land, and we’ll build our own,” Ganeshalingam said, referring to the thousands of families still living in line rooms and estate housing without legal ownership.
He also expressed frustration over a growing disconnect between the promises made by the current government and the lack of tangible progress.
“We helped bring this government to power. Now that trust is fading,” he added.
The demonstrators urged swift government action to convert vacant estate lands into freehold plots for long-term residents, a demand that continues to gain momentum in Sri Lanka’s central hills.
Leave a comment