News
‘Vedi Pitiya’ – where villagers fear to tread
An explosive device that blew up and killed two persons and seriously injured three last week on Kandakuli Beach is the latest in a string of accidents that have prompted locals to describe the area as “Vedi Pitiya”, or “Explosives Village.”
The accident occurred in Kalpitiya, in the district of Puttalam, on the northwest coast. The area adjoins a Sri Lanka Air Force training camp.
According to sources, a party of five young people, including a 17-year-old and four children, were playing on the beach when they found an object lying in the sand. One member of the party picked up the object and flung it at a turtle carcass. In the explosion, the 17-year-old and a child were killed, and the others badly injured. It is believed that the object was a hand grenade.
In 1997, an 800-acre stretch of land was acquired and cleared for the Air Force training camp.
Police and area residents at the scene of the tragedy
The village of Sagaragama was relocated, and the camp extended into land belonging to the villages of Musalpitiya and Mudalappaliya.
Over the past 15 years, Kandakuli residents have witnessed a series of accidents involving explosive devices which have killed and maimed humans and also animals.
Two children were killed and one lost a limb when an unexploded bomb they had found blew up. The two children who died were brothers, Susil Kumara, seven years, and A. Chamara, 12 years.
In separate incidents, explosive devices killed a 50-year-old farmer, a youth from Ammathottam, and a father of two.
Several donkeys have been killed and maimed after stepping on unexploded bombs.
In last week’s tragedy, Ruwan Sanjeevaa Abeykoon, 17 years, died on the spot and W. R. Tharuka died after admission to the Puttalam Hospital. Three 12-year-olds – T. Gimhan, B. Dilan, and S. Madushanka – were injured and are under medical treatment. Dilan and Madushanka Gimhan are being treated at the Puttalam Hospital, and Gimhan, who was seriously injured, is at the Colombo National Hospital.
The victims are the children of fishermen. Tharuka was the second son of Marian Shiromi and J. Antony of Kandekuliya. Mrs. Shiromi told the Sunday Times that she would warn her children that there were bombs in the shrub jungle near their home. She heard the sound of an explosion at about 2 pm on Tuesday, and later heard that her son was one of the victims.
Puttalam DIG K. M. Karunarathne is overseeing the police investigation.
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