President Dissanayake Pledges Rights and Dignity for Malayagam Community, Hands Over Homes to Displaced Families

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has reaffirmed his government's commitment to upholding the rights and dignity of the Malayagam community, marking the occasion with the formal handover of the "Navodayapuram" Housing Project to 50 families from Poonagala and Kabaragala who had lost their homes.

A New Beginning for Displaced Families

The ceremony, which saw five decades' worth of displacement and hardship symbolically addressed, provided long-awaited relief to families from the estate communities of Poonagala and Kabaragala. The newly constructed housing units under the Navodayapuram initiative represent a tangible step towards improving the living conditions of one of Sri Lanka's most historically marginalised communities.

Presidential Commitment to the Estate Sector

President Dissanayake used the occasion to send a strong message about his administration's priorities, pledging that the Malayagam community — long associated with Sri Lanka's plantation sector — would no longer be left behind in the country's development journey.

The President emphasised that every citizen, regardless of ethnicity or background, deserves to live with dignity and full enjoyment of their fundamental rights.

The Navodayapuram Housing Project is part of broader government efforts to address longstanding infrastructure deficits in estate communities, where many families have historically lived in substandard line rooms with limited access to basic amenities.

Significance for Sri Lanka's Plantation Communities

The handover carries deep symbolic weight for the Malayagam community, whose ancestors were brought to Sri Lanka as indentured labourers by British colonial planters. Despite generations of contribution to the country's tea and rubber industries, estate Tamils have consistently faced socioeconomic challenges including inadequate housing, limited healthcare access, and restricted educational opportunities.

• 50 families from Poonagala and Kabaragala received ownership of new housing units
• The project falls under the "Navodayapuram" Housing initiative
• President Dissanayake pledged continued government support for estate community welfare

Observers and community representatives have welcomed the President's public commitment, though many note that sustained policy action will be essential to translate pledges into lasting change for the hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans who call the hill country estates their home.