A two-acre land of the public cemetery near the Kolonna hospital was acquired for the proposed town development project under the “Pura Neguma” programme funded by the Asian Development Bank. Meanwhile the Pradeshiya Sabha decided to relocate the bodies buried in the cemetery, which required a court order. Embilipitiya District Judge Nilmini Francis who considered the Pradeshiya Sabha’s request ordered the removal of the bodies to make way for the proposed development project.

The remains of the bodies exhumed were placed in new coffins and sealed under the strict security of a police team under OIC Kolonna police P.N. de Silva.

Later the coffins were carried in a procession to the Maduwangala cemetery with the participation of the relatives of the diseased. The Mahasangha from several temples in the area administered religious rites. Addressing the gathering Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman P.H.R.D. Daya Patirana said a library, an Ayurvedic dispensary and public toilets would be built on land of the old cemetery. A large crowd of more than 500 people attended the unprecedented funeral.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka