Batti residents meet up at ‘peace’ pola

Residents of two villages in the Batticaloa district are celebrating, now that life is back to normal in the East. The Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people of Paladiwattam and Bakkiella, on the Batticaloa border, have re-named their market fair the Arunodaya Sama Pola, or Peace Pola, to mark the return of peace to their villages, after nearly three decades of strife. Shops that were closed for more than 20 years have reopened, and business is brisk.