Railways asks court to eject squatters from SLR lands
The General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways has sought a Court Order to eject eighty three (83) families from a stretch of land along the railway reservation at Thotalanga. The area in totality covers the Railway Passage , Mahawatte , Sirimavo Bandaranaike Mawatha, and Nagalagam Street all in Colombo 13 as well as a part of Colombo 14.
The action has been filed on the basis that the said 83 families are squatters. According to the General Manager Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, Sri Lanka Railways had requested the squatters to vacate the land on a number of occasions but the squatters had failed to adhere to the request. It is as a result of this that Sri Lanka Railways had sought an Court Order to eject the squatters from the railway lands.
The Sri Lanka Railways had filed this action under the Crown Land Re-acquisition Act No 7 of 1979.
Sri Lanka Railways informed the Magistrate that the lands along the railway line belonged to the Railway Department. The complainant informed the Magistrate that even after adequate and due notice had been given to vacate the said lands, the suspects had failed to adhere to such a notice.
The Railways General Manager moved Court to eject the squatters from the Railway Reserve and hand over peaceful position of the said lands to Sri Lanka Railways.
By T. Farook Thajudeen
Source: Dailymirror
