Batticaloa’s Grazing Lands: A Decade-Long Dispute Over Mathavanai and Mayilathamadu
In the eastern district of Batticaloa, a protracted land conflict continues to unfold across the fertile grazing grounds of Mathavanai and Mayilathamadu. What began as a local dispute over pastoral land has evolved into a complex case study of post-war land governance, involving Tamil cattle farmers, Sinhalese settlers, and multiple state institutions.
The territory in question comprises approximately 3,025 hectares of grazing land bordering the Mandari River, historically used by Tamil farmers from villages including Sithandi and Vantharmolai for cattle rearing, the primary livelihood for over 1,000 families in the region.
Origins and Escalation
The roots of the conflict extend to 1979, when 12,000 acres were acquired under the Mahaweli Authority’s System B development scheme. However, tensions intensified markedly from 2013 onwards, when Sinhalese settlers from Ampara and Polonnaruwa districts began occupying portions of the grazing land, reportedly with state facilitation.
Between 2012 and 2023, local farmers documented the loss of 6,948 livestock through various means—killed, injured, disappeared, or forcibly captured. Human Rights Watch reported that retired military personnel settled in the area with government support, allegedly using illegal weapons against cattle.
Legal Proceedings and State Response
The farmers’ legal challenges have produced mixed results. In 2021, a Court of Appeal case resulted in an order requiring illegal occupants to vacate by 21st July of that year. The Mahaweli Authority provided an undertaking that settlers engaged in cultivation would leave by 28th February 2021. Neither deadline was met.
In 2020, the then-Governor of the Eastern Province reportedly encouraged agricultural development of maize and groundnuts on the disputed grazing lands, further complicating matters. By October 2023, a Buddha statue was installed in the area under the leadership of a Buddhist monk, with participation from the former Provincial Governor.
Current Status
In October 2023, President Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to allocate alternative land for farmers outside Mayilathamadu and ordered the removal of illegal settlers through a court order. These directives remain largely unimplemented.
Also in October 2023, a protest against land grabs in Mathavanai and Mayilathamadu was violently suppressed when police assaulted demonstrators on October 8. Tamil journalists Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy and V. Krishnakumar reported on the protest, highlighting the police brutality.
The state has released 77 acres of occupied land, but 27 houses remain under naval control. Meanwhile, farmers continue to seek official designation of Mayilathamadu as protected grazing land.
As violence continued, illegal encroachers shot and killed a cow belonging to farmer Muthupillai Vendan on October 11, 2025, later taking the animal for meat. When farmers attempted to file a complaint, officers at the Mayilanthamadu–Mathavanai police station refused to register the case, claiming they were engaged in online training sessions—a response farmers condemned as evidence of systemic bias and neglect.
By mid-September 2025, the farmers had marked 730 days of continuous peaceful protest, more than two years of sustained demonstration. At a rally held at Siththandi Junction, farmers, civil society organisations, parliamentarians, and members of the public gathered to appeal not only to the Sri Lankan government but to the international community for intervention. Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam emphasised that state authorities, including the Mahaweli and Forest Departments, attempted to seize the land under the guise of “development” in 2022, and that the farmers’ fight is “not only for land and livelihood, but against systematic displacement and colonisation.”
In January 2025, the Eravur Circuit Magistrate Court issued an arrest warrant for journalist Sasikaran Punniyamoorthy, former treasurer of the Batticaloa Press Club, after he failed to appear in court, having gone into exile following intimidation by security forces. The court ordered his details sent to immigration authorities and adjourned the case until April 21.
The broader pattern of attacks continues, with farmers estimating they have lost 7,000 cattle over the past decade to assaults by Sinhalese settlers. Despite the ongoing violence and the protest now extending well into its third year, Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly ignored calls for justice.
Broader Context
The case reflects wider patterns documented across Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces, where land disputes frequently intersect with ethnic demographics, post-war militarisation, and competing development agendas. The Mahaweli System B, spanning Polonnaruwa and Batticaloa Districts, has historically facilitated demographic shifts through resettlement programmes.
For the cattle farmers of Mathavanai and Mayilathamadu, the conflict represents not merely a territorial dispute but a threat to their economic survival. As one farmer noted in recent proceedings, each year without access to adequate grazing land forces them to transport cattle to flood-prone areas in Manthai West, resulting in substantial livestock losses and financial hardship.
The resolution of this dispute will likely require coordination between multiple government departments, meaningful implementation of existing court orders, and recognition of the farmers’ documentary evidence of historical land use. For now, the protesters at Siththandi Junction continue their vigil, awaiting a just solution that has eluded them for over a decade.
References
https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/forgotten-farmers
https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/forgotten-farmers
https://www.cpalanka.org/the-intersectional-trends-of-land-conflicts-in-sri-lanka/
Last updated – March 2026