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Thirteen-year curse for nine destitute families in Bulathkohupitiya
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Not livable: The state of the temporary shelters
Nine families evicted after a landslide in Levela, Bulathkohoupitiya in the Kegalle district and settled in a plot of land temporarily 13 years ago with the promise of providing them with a permanent solution, still live in temporary shelters.
Iyasamy Sivakumar
The families were located in a land close to the Yakella school and promised that they would be given alternative land.
They claim that most other families who were displaced were given land and most have built their homes by now.
Iyasamy Sivakumar, 55 said they live in temporary shelters with polythene sheets on their roofs and they need to be replaced very often as they get damaged due to the strong sun or get blown off during heavy winds.
Valliamma
“We have used a few tin sheets but that too gets rusty and during rains our houses start leaking”, he said.
“Our appeal to the government is to consider our plight and provide us some relief. If we are provided with the land we can build our own homes, ” he said.
Subramaniam Valliamma, 69, said that they are living with immense difficulties and during the rainy season their houses get submerged with rain water.
“There is hardly any room inside and it is difficult for the children to live in the houses. Children fall ill regularly,” she said. 
She said they were offered land by the state in the Bogola area which is located at a distance and the residents were not willing to accept the land as it was too far from their workplaces.
Chandrakumar Mugunthan said they only wanted the government to give them a land .
Nandana Mallagala, NPP MP for the area, said that discussions have been held regarding the issue and they are confident it will be resolved soon.
Pix and text by Ravindra Welagedara
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