The Archaeology Department’s failure to expel encroachers from the Kuragala archaeological site in the Mahawalatenna Plateau Balangoda over the past several years has raised concerns among environmentalists and archaeologists in the country.
It is questionable as to why the Department of Archaeology is taking a lukewarm attitude towards the encroachers despite the court ruling delivered on April 20, 2012 by the Balangoda Magistrate directing the Department to eject the encroaches immediately.
The ruins at Kuragala suggest that it was a predominant Buddhist monastery. The inscriptions on the roofs of the caves underscore the dedication with which the vast number of caves were used by Buddhist priests, according to Prof. Raj Somadeva’s Kalatota Survey- Phase 1 Journal.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Prof. Somadeva said when considering the proven historicity of the locations the legal provisions of the Antiquity Ordinance and later amendments should be implemented in order to manage the archaeological sites.
“Kuragala has been identified as a focal point of human occupation since the terminal Pleistocene. There are several caves and the inscriptions therein had been written in the early form of the Brahmin characters. This shows that they belong around 250 Before the Common Era (BCE). The cluster of natural caves suggests that they had been occupied by Buddhist monks in the early phase of Buddhism in Sri Lanka,” Prof. Somadeva said.
Brahmin inscriptions
Encroachers, from the time they trespassed the site, have been destroying the artefacts. The Brahmin inscriptions that were unearthed in some rock caves are now being destroyed. In some places the concrete has obliterated the ancient inscriptions which dates back to the time before Arahath Mahinda’s arrival to the country.
According to the survey carried out by Prof. Somadeva, Anusha Wanninayake and Dinesh Devage, the total archaeological landscape of Kuragala has been changed with the erection of a mosque in the terrace of Cave No: 1. Several burials of Islamic community in the archaeological site reveal how some encroachers have changed this place over the years for which the officials of the Department of Archaeology have to take responsibility.
“Either side of the path to the main entrance that leads to the site has also been considerably modified by the construction of several permanent buildings. Cave No: 6 and 7 have been disfigured by the visitors to these sites,” the survey report states.
This area was declared as an archaeological reserve on November 18, 1971 by the then Commissioner General of Archaeology Roland Silva. Former President R. Premadasa, in March 1990, had set aside 26 acres from the area to relocate encroachers. Although they obtained this land, the Presidential directive was not heeded.
Caves disfigured
“Ven. Kolonne Vijitha Thera requested from the Department of Archaeology through a letter dated November 16, 2004 seeking permission to erect a Buddha statue within the archaeological site to which permission wasn’t granted. However, to a reason known to them, the Archaeology Department allowed the encroachers to construct permanent structures within the reserve and didn’t take any action against disfiguring the caves,” Ven. Dayawansa Thero said.
Meanwhile Dayawansa Thero further accused all the former Director Generals and the present Head of the Department of Archaeology for being biased. “What is the reason they can’t act on the court directives? Under Antiquity Ordinance No: 9 of 1944, there are provisions for these officials to take stern action against the trespasses on any Reserve and also against those who have destroyed the artefacts therein,” the Thero claimed.
Since the Archaeological officials had failed to eject the encroachers after the area was declared as an Archaeological Reserve in 1971 under gazette notification No: 14987, Ven. Kolonne Shantha Vijaya Thero had lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in 2005 (HRC/ 6030/ 05) against the Commissioner General Archaeology, Head Quarters Inspector Balangoda, the Divisional Secretary Balangoda and Assistant Director Archaeology Sabaragamuva Province seeking instructions so that the Department can evict intruders.The Thera had also given evidence at the Presidential Commission representing the Buddha Sasana.
Temporary buildings
“At the Human Rights investigation, the then Director General Archaeology confirmed with the Commission that the Department had not taken any steps to eject the people after the area had been declared a Reserve and also how they were allowed to construct temporary buildings. The Director General had also said that it is difficult to remove the buildings that had been constructed before the area was gazetted as an archaeological site,” Dayawansa Thero added.
The is in possession of both the order delivered by the Human Rights Commission on January 29, 2009 and the Magistrate Court order. The Commissioner General Archaeology was asked to produce the encroachers before court by the Human Rights Commission and not to allow the encroachers to destroy the Reserve. Meanwhile the court wanted the Department of Archaeology to expel the people from the site.
Based on the HR Commission’s directives, the Legal Division of the Archaeology Department filed three cases in the Balangoda Magistrate Court against the intruders.
The accused however informed the court that they had been living in the premises for over 70 years, and were unable to submit a legal document to prove ownership of the land other than the Grama Niladhari report and the electricity bills they possessed.
Balangoda Magistrate G.A.R. Attygalle in her ruling delivered on April 20, 2012 ordered the Plaintiff to evacuate the defendent parties and their dependents. The appeal filed thereafter by the defendent was rejected twice.
“Former Commissioner General Dr. Senarath Dissanayake should be held responsible for not taking any action to implement the court order. It was the former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa that intervened and got the Civil Defence Force to demolish sixteen illegal constructions and restored a few caves to its original standing,” sources from the Archaeology Department said on condition of anonymity.
Department of Archaeology Director General Prof. P. Mandawela said that as per the court ruling all encroachers have been evicted other than the mosque which is in the vicinity of the caves.
“I took over office recently and I’m not aware of the exact details of the illegal encroachment in this archaeological reserve. However when I inquired from one of our officials, I was told that there are no encroachers within the reserve now, but the mosque that was built few decades ago still stands there,” Prof. Mandawela said.
Meanwhile Assistant Director Archaeology Tissa Madurapperuma said that plans are afoot to remove the mosque within the reserve.
“We have allowed the Muslims to hold their annual festival in the mosque which is attended by thousands of devotees. But we have not allowed them to build temporary constructions. Although we have asked them to shift the mosque, within the reserve, they asked us to give them a few months to relocate it to which request the Department consented. However we are yet to clear the caves that have been coloured by encroachers and bring them back to their past glory,” Madurapperuma added.
The Commissioner General of Archaeology has not responded so far.
