Muthunagar Farmers Stage Protest in Colombo
26-Sep-2025.
Muthunagar farmers staged a demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo on September 24, demanding that 800 acres of farmland in Muthunagar, which the government has handed over to an Indian private company, be returned to them.
The farmers, who have lost 800 acres of fertile agricultural land in the Muthunagar area along with their livelihood, stated that they are now left in severe distress with no means of survival.
Protesters pointed out that although they had already informed the government of their plight, the authorities continue to act with negligence regarding the farmers’ concerns.
In the Trincomalee Muthunagar region, the government handed over farmlands to an Indian company despite opposition from local residents.
Against this backdrop, on September 24, Muthunagar farmers protested in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo, demanding the return of their lands.
At around 10:30 a.m., the gathered protesters declared that losing their farmland, which was their only means of livelihood, had left them in extreme hardship.
Farmers, local residents, and civil society activists—many of whom had traveled from Muthunagar in two buses—participated in this protest. They accused the government of seizing their lands and handing them over to a foreign company.
They further said that no solution has yet been provided to the affected parties.
The government has allocated the farmers’ land for a solar power project, and steps are reportedly being taken to close down the irrigation ponds without providing any alternative farmland, leaving the farmers in despair.
The protesters carried placards that read: “Return our farmland in Muthunagar—it belongs to us,” “Foreign companies profit from government actions, while farmers are abandoned on the streets,” “Do not starve poor farmers,” “Our rights must be ours,” “Stop the plan to close irrigation ponds,” and “Is this how the National People’s Power government treats its farmers?” They chanted these slogans loudly to register their opposition.
