Sarah Hannan reporting from Uchchimunai, Kalpitiya
Uchchimunai, a fishing village located on the northmost end of the Kalpitiya Peninsula, is today categorised as an island that has substantial potential for tourism-centric development.
The recent speculation about the ‘island’ being leased out to a Swiss company for a period of 30 years resulted in enough noise for many to take an interest in the goings-on in and around the Kalpitiya lagoon.
The only other time that the fishing village had a spotlight on it was when its primary school was established in 2012. Of course every time there is an election the residents complain about having to travel to Kalpitiya to exercise their electoral franchise.
So what is happening in relation to this ‘island’ and why is no one speaking about the families residing there who engage in fishing?
Prior to setting off to Uchchimunai from the Sangumalawatte Tourist Jetty, The Sunday Morning made a stop at the Our Lady of Good Voyage Roman Catholic Church in Kalpitiya to speak to Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Arosh Priyanga Appuhamy and gather some insight about the people in Uchchimunai.
“The people in Uchchimunai have long been neglected by the local authorities and have continued to live in destitute conditions for generations. They are denied access to basic needs such as water, roads, and medical assistance and even struggle with undernourishment, leaving a majority of the people vision-impaired and kids with vitamin deficiencies that affect their brain development. This has left the people in a permanent state of uncertainty as the fishing trade too is being gravely affected by the economic crisis,” Fr. Arosh explained.
Artificially-separated land expanse
So, was Uchchimunai an island at all?
Why do some villagers still believe that the Government can build a road network to get to the fishing village?
In Uchchimunai, we asked 42-year-old Geeth Sumith, a seafarer, about the history of the area.
“Many families that are residing in Uchchimunai have been residents for four generations. My grandfather used to tell us the story of how there were about 200 families living in and around the Kalpitiya Peninsula. They even helped the Dutch to build their church, which is now a tourist attraction,” Sumith said.
The categorisation of Uchchimunai as an island is strongly questioned by those with ancestry running back three generations. As Sumith started to retrace the geography of the area from when he was growing up there, it became clear that the separation was artificially created to make it visibly pleasing for potential investors interested in building island resorts.
“Uchchimunai was accessible via the sand dunes that ran from Kalpitiya to the head of the Uchchimunai beach viewpoint, which overlooks Karaitivu island. During low tide, one can still use a tractor or a 4x4 and drive all the way here. The beach was restructured when the tourism development projects were initiated and the breadth of the sand dunes started to recede at certain points, breaking the continuous sand bank into the now ‘island’-like areas in which we live,” Sumith noted.
Accordingly, the population of Uchchimunai, which was once 700 families strong, has today been reduced to 170 families, with the rest displaced and forced to abandon the areas they had occupied for generations.
No permanent structures allowed
Fr. Arosh noted that the people of Uchchimunai were not allowed to build permanent structures on the land as they were not its sovereign or outright owners.
“It is disputed land which the local authorities are looking to give out to tourism development projects. We are not against the idea of establishing tourism projects and developing the area to improve foreign revenue. But, there should be proper consultation with the people living on Uchchimunai.”
The authorities have allowed the parish to construct four Roman Catholic churches, a primary school, and a pre-school so far, whereas all the other structures are temporary or semi-permanent.
With many of the previous generation’s literacy levels being low, there are a considerable number of people without birth certificates or identity cards, which has led to many who are eligible for social welfare facing challenges in applying for such allowances or opening bank accounts.
“Although there are many childbirths recorded under the residents of Uchchimunai in the Kalpitiya Hospital, the parents or guardians fail to fill the forms provided by the hospital to obtain the necessary birth certificates for their newborns. We even arranged a mobile service after consulting the Divisional Secretariat Office, which took place earlier this year, yet many had not completed the forms as they were unable to read or write,” Uchchimunai Roman Catholic Tamil School Acting Principal S.H.M. Nifraz told The Sunday Morning.
No Grama Niladhari in the vicinity
The other pressing issue that this community is facing is that they do not have a designated Grama Niladhari present in the area to oversee the documentation process.
When we contacted the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha to inquire whether there was a Grama Niladhari designated to Uchchimunai, we were told that the Dutch Bay Grama Niladhari oversaw the administration of Uchchimunai.
According to officials at the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha, the Grama Niladhari appointed to oversee administration work for Uchchimunai has to travel about 23 km on land or take a boat to get to the island.
“The Grama Niladhari never visits us, so we have to take a boat and go to Kalpitiya to meet him. Some days he is not in the office and the development officer or the Samurdhi officer asks us to come back the next day. This is why many of the villagers are not that keen on getting their paperwork sorted. Even to register for the Samurdhi allowance, it was quite a challenge,” Nirmala Fernando, a 29-year-old mother of three, explained.
Given the present economic crisis, it is neither practical nor economical for these families to travel back and forth to Kalpitiya by boat as they are only afforded 20 litres of kerosene per week, which they pool in and use to go to sea with several other seafarers.
“If it is an emergency, we have to borrow kerosene for our boats and make the journey,” Nirmala added.
Voters mocked
Given the increased interest in the area’s development projects, we asked the villagers of Uchchimunai whether they had been visited by the local area politicians or any parliamentarians in the recent past.
Sumith responded: “For decades, no one has ever visited to ask about the hardships we face. We are not even consulted by the authorities prior to them signing agreements to hand over the land to investors. There were some groups which arrived recently, but we did not have any clue as to whether they were foreigners on vacation or whether they were the investors that everyone is talking about.
“We are registered to vote and have to go to Kalpitiya to cast our votes. If our votes are good enough for them, why can’t they assist us to develop our livelihood? We feel as if the authorities are exploiting our vulnerabilities to stay in power and making a mockery of our votes. No sooner they get the investors, we fear our families will face displacement.”
Sumith urged the relevant authorities to look at appointing a residential Grama Niladhari in the vicinity who could keep records and raise pressing issues with the Pradeshiya Sabha frequently.
The villagers are also requesting that a medical officer frequently visit the area to look at providing the necessary medical attention to those suffering from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and to provide information on healthy living to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
Photos Lalith Perera
The recent speculation about the ‘island’ being leased out to a Swiss company for a period of 30 years resulted in enough noise for many to take an interest in the goings-on in and around the Kalpitiya lagoon.
The only other time that the fishing village had a spotlight on it was when its primary school was established in 2012. Of course every time there is an election the residents complain about having to travel to Kalpitiya to exercise their electoral franchise.
So what is happening in relation to this ‘island’ and why is no one speaking about the families residing there who engage in fishing?
Prior to setting off to Uchchimunai from the Sangumalawatte Tourist Jetty, The Sunday Morning made a stop at the Our Lady of Good Voyage Roman Catholic Church in Kalpitiya to speak to Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Arosh Priyanga Appuhamy and gather some insight about the people in Uchchimunai.
“The people in Uchchimunai have long been neglected by the local authorities and have continued to live in destitute conditions for generations. They are denied access to basic needs such as water, roads, and medical assistance and even struggle with undernourishment, leaving a majority of the people vision-impaired and kids with vitamin deficiencies that affect their brain development. This has left the people in a permanent state of uncertainty as the fishing trade too is being gravely affected by the economic crisis,” Fr. Arosh explained.
Artificially-separated land expanse
So, was Uchchimunai an island at all?
Why do some villagers still believe that the Government can build a road network to get to the fishing village?
In Uchchimunai, we asked 42-year-old Geeth Sumith, a seafarer, about the history of the area.
“Many families that are residing in Uchchimunai have been residents for four generations. My grandfather used to tell us the story of how there were about 200 families living in and around the Kalpitiya Peninsula. They even helped the Dutch to build their church, which is now a tourist attraction,” Sumith said.
The categorisation of Uchchimunai as an island is strongly questioned by those with ancestry running back three generations. As Sumith started to retrace the geography of the area from when he was growing up there, it became clear that the separation was artificially created to make it visibly pleasing for potential investors interested in building island resorts.
“Uchchimunai was accessible via the sand dunes that ran from Kalpitiya to the head of the Uchchimunai beach viewpoint, which overlooks Karaitivu island. During low tide, one can still use a tractor or a 4x4 and drive all the way here. The beach was restructured when the tourism development projects were initiated and the breadth of the sand dunes started to recede at certain points, breaking the continuous sand bank into the now ‘island’-like areas in which we live,” Sumith noted.
Accordingly, the population of Uchchimunai, which was once 700 families strong, has today been reduced to 170 families, with the rest displaced and forced to abandon the areas they had occupied for generations.
No permanent structures allowed
Fr. Arosh noted that the people of Uchchimunai were not allowed to build permanent structures on the land as they were not its sovereign or outright owners.
“It is disputed land which the local authorities are looking to give out to tourism development projects. We are not against the idea of establishing tourism projects and developing the area to improve foreign revenue. But, there should be proper consultation with the people living on Uchchimunai.”
The authorities have allowed the parish to construct four Roman Catholic churches, a primary school, and a pre-school so far, whereas all the other structures are temporary or semi-permanent.
With many of the previous generation’s literacy levels being low, there are a considerable number of people without birth certificates or identity cards, which has led to many who are eligible for social welfare facing challenges in applying for such allowances or opening bank accounts.
“Although there are many childbirths recorded under the residents of Uchchimunai in the Kalpitiya Hospital, the parents or guardians fail to fill the forms provided by the hospital to obtain the necessary birth certificates for their newborns. We even arranged a mobile service after consulting the Divisional Secretariat Office, which took place earlier this year, yet many had not completed the forms as they were unable to read or write,” Uchchimunai Roman Catholic Tamil School Acting Principal S.H.M. Nifraz told The Sunday Morning.
No Grama Niladhari in the vicinity
The other pressing issue that this community is facing is that they do not have a designated Grama Niladhari present in the area to oversee the documentation process.
When we contacted the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha to inquire whether there was a Grama Niladhari designated to Uchchimunai, we were told that the Dutch Bay Grama Niladhari oversaw the administration of Uchchimunai.
According to officials at the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha, the Grama Niladhari appointed to oversee administration work for Uchchimunai has to travel about 23 km on land or take a boat to get to the island.
“The Grama Niladhari never visits us, so we have to take a boat and go to Kalpitiya to meet him. Some days he is not in the office and the development officer or the Samurdhi officer asks us to come back the next day. This is why many of the villagers are not that keen on getting their paperwork sorted. Even to register for the Samurdhi allowance, it was quite a challenge,” Nirmala Fernando, a 29-year-old mother of three, explained.
Given the present economic crisis, it is neither practical nor economical for these families to travel back and forth to Kalpitiya by boat as they are only afforded 20 litres of kerosene per week, which they pool in and use to go to sea with several other seafarers.
“If it is an emergency, we have to borrow kerosene for our boats and make the journey,” Nirmala added.
Voters mocked
Given the increased interest in the area’s development projects, we asked the villagers of Uchchimunai whether they had been visited by the local area politicians or any parliamentarians in the recent past.
Sumith responded: “For decades, no one has ever visited to ask about the hardships we face. We are not even consulted by the authorities prior to them signing agreements to hand over the land to investors. There were some groups which arrived recently, but we did not have any clue as to whether they were foreigners on vacation or whether they were the investors that everyone is talking about.
“We are registered to vote and have to go to Kalpitiya to cast our votes. If our votes are good enough for them, why can’t they assist us to develop our livelihood? We feel as if the authorities are exploiting our vulnerabilities to stay in power and making a mockery of our votes. No sooner they get the investors, we fear our families will face displacement.”
Sumith urged the relevant authorities to look at appointing a residential Grama Niladhari in the vicinity who could keep records and raise pressing issues with the Pradeshiya Sabha frequently.
The villagers are also requesting that a medical officer frequently visit the area to look at providing the necessary medical attention to those suffering from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and to provide information on healthy living to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
Photos Lalith Perera