File photo: Monks launch hunger strike against Anuradhapura sacred area expansion
The protest centres on a gazette notification issued by the National Physical Planning Department on February 27, outlining an updated Anuradhapura Sacred Area Development Plan. The proposal seeks to expand the designated sacred zone from 28 to 38 square kilometres and improve infrastructure, sanitation, transport and facilities for pilgrims and tourists. The dispute has also centred on a reported signboard identifying a site within the Atamasthana area as a Kali Kovil.
He has said archaeological evidence points to the ruins of a 10th-century Kali Kovil in the area, but there is no evidence of a newly constructed Rama Kovil or other religious buildings. He has also said that the Archaeology Ordinance prohibits unauthorised construction. But the plan has triggered resistance among some Buddhist monks and residents, who fear that redevelopment could change the character of an area regarded as one of Sri Lanka’s most important centres of Buddhist worship. Concerns have been raised over the possibility of other religious places of worship coming up within the expanded zone, restrictions on religious activities and plans to put up protective fencing around important Buddhist monuments. Some residents have expressed concern that the presence of other religious structures could expand within the sacred zone. However, National Physical Planning Department director general Ruchira Vithana has rejected allegations that the gazette allows new religious buildings or restricts devotees from visiting sacred sites. The agitation had already escalated into a sit-in protest led by Ven Balangoda Kassapa Thera. Protesters clashed with police over construction of an elevated structure, following which a magistrate’s court ordered them to vacate areas around Ruwanweli Maha Seya and Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and remove their temporary tents. The protesters remained at the site despite the order.