Colombo (AsiaNews) – On Monday, several hundred people gathered in front of the District Secretariat in Batticaloa, eastern Sri Lanka, to demand the return of grazing land in Mayilaththamadu and Mathavanai, traditionally been used by Tamil cattle farmers.
Although the demonstration was halted following a court order issued against 11 of its organisers, the dispute remains unresolved.
The protest drew cattle farmers, their families, representatives of civil society groups, activists, and supporters from both the north and the south of the country.
At the heart of the mobilisation is a call to protect grazing lands, remove settlements deemed illegal, and enforce the decisions made by the District Development Committee, as well as various court rulings regarding the case.
According to the non-governmental organisation Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR), following the end of the civil war, groups of farmers from other regions of the country settled on land intended for grazing, claiming ownership by asserting that the area was part of their own ancestral villages.
Under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, some of these families were reportedly issued provisional land-allotment documents, further complicating the dispute.
“Dairy farming is our traditional livelihood. We earned much and led a good life with no economic issues,” a group of farmers said, speaking to AsiaNews. They “Also distributed cows' milk on a large scale. But today we have lost everything. We can't go further like this.”
The crisis has had a devastating impact on the local economy. Before the grazing land was occupied, daily milk production reached approximately 5,000 litres; today, it has plummeted to between 300 and 500 litres.
A shortage of fodder has also reduced the yield per animal, which has fallen from about 20 litres to just 5 litres per day.
More than three thousand families who rely on dairy farming have lost their primary source of income, while some 200,000 head of cattle have been cut off from their traditional grazing lands.
The dispute has generated serious tensions. Farmers report attacks on their livestock, including shootings, stabbings, and poisonings, as well as persistent threats against their families.
On 20 May, the government announced its intention to officially designate the area as a grazing zone, with plans to provide alternative land, under the jurisdiction of the Mahaweli Authority, to the farmers currently settled in the region.
On 29 September, in Batticaloa, Minister Sunil Handunnetti confirmed that the president had approved the issuance of the relevant decree, emphasising that the government would not tolerate conflicts fuelled by ethnic divisions. However, according to protesters, these commitments have yet to be put into practice.
During the protest, the district secretary met with seven cattle farmers, but the meeting was deemed unsatisfactory. Subsequently, a court order was issued against eleven of the organisers.
The matter will be reviewed by the Court of Appeal on 9 December, at which time the government’s response, the official decree, and the extent to which the authorities have honoured their prior commitments will be assessed.
The crisis has had a devastating impact on the local economy. Before the encroachment on the grazing land, daily milk production had reached approximately 5,000 litres; since then, it has plummeted to between 300 and 500 litres.
