Protest over rights to fishing village on Wilpattu border

A group of fisher families from the Pukkulama Fishing Village on the Wilpattu National Park border held a protest in front of the Wanathavilluwa Divisional Secretariat yesterday demanding that authorities give them the rights due to them. 

The protestors stated that their village was the final one before the Wilpattu National Park and said the Department of Wildlife Conservation was obstructing them from going to their village, though they had lived their for generations. The protestors noted that though about 200 people live in the village, officials have not issued any land deeds to them.

They alleged Wildlife officials had made it impossible for them to approach the village from land. 

The protestors later handed over a petition to the Wanathavilluwa Divisional Secretary. 

The DWC however, stated that Pukkulama was not a fishing village and that the area had only been granted to fishermen to set up temporary huts to engage in fishing. They said it was illegal for fishermen to establish a permanent colony in the area with their families and they cannot use land routes to access the village since they fall through Wilpattu National Park. 

Text and Pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe