Buddha statue to be erected at the entrance of Batticaloa district

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 May 2013, 23:47 GMT]
A statue of Lord Buddha is to be installed at the entrance to the Batticaloa city by the occupying Colombo government at the request of the head of the Batticaloa Mangalarama Vihara. The Sri Lankan Road Development Authority has also given permission for the erection of Buddha statue, sources in Batticaloa said. The move is against sustaining religious harmony in the district, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian C. Yogeswaran has stated in an urgent appeal to Sri Lanka's Buddha Sasana Minister and Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne.

Saivites are in majority in the Batticaloa district. Members of the other faiths, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism live in small numbers in the district.

Hence the erection of Buddha statue at the entrance to the Batticaloa city would create religious tension in the district where all religious communities live in harmony, Mr.Yogeswaran has said in his memorandum