*
2,500 Mahaweli farmer families receive land titles
Mon, Mar 1, 2010, 11:53 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 01, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government today presented 2,500 land titles to the farming community living in the Mahaweli C Zone.
At a function held at the Mahaweli Cultural Centre at Girandurukotte, the Minister of Heath and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva presented the entitlements to the farmer families who had been living in the lands for several years without the rightful ownership.
The Ministry of Mahaweli and Land Development granted the titles on a request of the Health Minister.
The farming community in the Mahaweli C area faced numerous difficulties for several years due to the lack of title to the land.
Addressing the mass of people gathered, the Minister said the current President Mahinda Rajapaksa enabled a large number of youth to enter the political system. Other parties do not provide the opportunity, he said pointing out that the opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe is still unwilling to relinquish his leadership even after losing 19 consecutive elections.
As a result, the opposition party members are joining the ruling alliance, the Minister added.