Tamil people in the Batticaloa district have expressed their displeasure over the identification of Tamil places of worship as archaeological sites.
Work has been carried out in the Paduwankara area of the Batticaloa district to identify the ancient village areas. Officials of the Archaeological Survey Department have silently posted a banner at the Hee Shakthi Velayuthar Temple premises at Pullumalai in the village of Vivekanandapuram Ammankulam in the Borathivupatru Divisional Secretariat Division in Batticaloa without informing the villagers.
According to locals, the hill was originally a place of worship for Lord Murugan and some Buddhist monks had visited a few months ago and since then, archaeological sites have been declared.
The people of the area have demanded that a proper solution be found to the problem and that their temple premises are to be protected.
Despite the fact that Professor of History Padmanathan has surveyed the area and reported that Tamils lived in the area about 3000 years ago with cultural characteristics, the people of the area have raised various doubts about such archaeological activities being carried out in collaboration with Buddhist monks.
