Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader and MP Mano Ganesan has said that the Ditwah disaster has once again exposed Sri Lanka’s vulnerability to climate-related crises and the long-standing marginalisation of the Malaiyaha Tamil community in disaster relief, resettlement, and protection.
He made these remarks after a meeting with UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Marc-André Franche at the United Nations office in Colombo, where the situation of affected plantation communities was formally discussed.
MP Ganesan highlighted that while official figures report 643 deaths and 183 missing nationwide, plantation communities account for a disproportionately high number of casualties despite representing a small portion of the affected population. Many displaced families continue to live in schools and temporary shelters, while some are being pressured to return to disaster-prone areas.
“This is not accidental. It is the result of decades of structural neglect and unequal treatment. It reflects an apathetic and discriminatory approach by the State toward the Malaiyaha Tamil community,” he said.
He stressed that legal provisions already exist to address the issue, noting that Emergency Regulations allow the State to requisition land for emergency relocation, while plantation lands fall under State ownership through the Crown Lands Ordinance. Permanent solutions, he added, could later be implemented under the Land Acquisition Act.
“Excuses continue, often hiding behind plantation companies who are only lessees. The law is clear. What is missing is political will,” MP Ganesan said.
While welcoming the President’s Rs. 5 million per housing unit programme, he warned that excluding plantation families risks creating a two-tier system of citizenship. He outlined three key demands: the inclusion of all Ditwah-displaced Malaiyaha families in the national housing scheme; the rejection of multi-storey housing for estate communities due to their cultural and civilisational ties to land; and the separation of the Indian housing project from the State’s responsibility to its own disaster-affected citizens.
MP Ganesan also criticised contradictions in governance, noting that a government which opposed the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is now seeking to introduce a more draconian Public Security framework, despite existing laws being sufficient to ensure public safety.
He further observed that key commitments made to Northern Tamil communities—such as land release, release of political prisoners, devolution of power, and the effective functioning of the Office on Missing Persons—remain unfulfilled.
“In this bleak landscape, TPA is the only political force that has delivered structural change for our people through villages, housing, charters, and administrative reforms, not merely slogans,” he said, adding that the issue has been raised with India, the United States, France, and the United Nations.
“This is no longer only a relief issue. It is about equal citizenship, equal protection, and equal dignity. Ditwah must become a turning point, not another chapter of being sent back to danger and forgotten,” MP Ganesan emphasised.
The meeting was also attended by Barath Arullsamy, Vice President of the Democratic People’s Front–Tamil Progressive Alliance.
