Fisher families return to safe-zone Nandikadal

The Nandikadal Lagoon, scene of the final struggle between government troops and the LTTE, was opened to the public recently – three years after the war ended. De- mining has been completed in most of the lagoon area, and the majority of Nandikadal residents have been resettled in their villages. Fishing, the main livelihood of families in the lagoon area, has resumed.

Mullaitivu district secretary N. Ehanayagan told the Sunday Times that some 1,000 fisher families depend on the lagoon for a living, and that resettlement was held up for security reasons.

Army spokesperson, Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya, told the Sunday Times that the fisher families were resettled once security checks were completed and the area declared safe to return to. The de- mining teams found the lagoon and the land around it thick with live explosives and landmines.

De- mining continues in Vellamullivaikkal and Ambalavala Pokkani, while resettlement has been completed in Wattrapalai, and continues in Mullivaikaal, east of Puthukudyiruppu and Thepapalai.

Thepapalai is under the control of the Sri Lanka Air Force and will not be open for resettlement. Thepapalai families are waiting till they are found a place to be resettled. Nandikadal Lagoon has an average depth of five feet and is rich in prawns, mud crabs and small fish. The bulk of the catch is sent to Colombo, and excess stocks marketed in Mullaitivu.

Brigadier Wanigasuriya said the Army had no objections to fishermen from other areas using the Nandikadal Lagoon, but Nandikadal residents, who are heavily dependent on lagoon fishing, would not welcome outsiders, he said. Fishermen’s societies in Mullaitivu do not allow fishermen from other areas to fish in Nandikadal waters.