LOSER AT LUNUGAMVEHERA GEM LAND

“The whole village became winners by becoming rich while I became the worst loser. Having been the original owner who had lived in the land for a number of years
Earth in my mouth and I have fallen on to the road.
The former owner of the gem land confesses”

The former owner of the gem land at Lunugamvehera has fallen on the road today. Even though he had been living in a land of 5 acres over 10 years which was auctioned for Rs.270 million, he had lost his land because he had been an illegal resident.
He had never thought that there would be gems in his land and he had been involved in ‘chena’ cultivation and had lived in a hut.
Even though the villages have found gems worth to the tune of Rs 200 million, he had been able to find gems to the tune of only Rs 2 lakhs. 
However, the land which contained gems was found as he wanted to flatten the earth to build his house.
This is how he told his story:
“I wanted to build the house after my wife was pregnant expecting the second baby…but this mountain of soil in the middle of land was a barrier… I was thinking all these days as to how to get rid of that…then I heard that the construction of Lunugamvehera road had started. One day I saw that people who are working on this project carrying soil from Thammannawa Tank and I went and asked them as to why they needed. .. Then they told that they needed soil to fill the road with soil. Then I thought that if I tell them to take soil from my land for a payment, so that I could build my house. With that thought in my mind, I told them to utilize soil from my land…I asked them to pay Rs100 per a lorry load… they said that could pay only Rs 50 per lorry load of sand.
I didn’t think twice as I had no other option or alternative…I agreed since I wanted to level the land. After that they took three cubes of soil into one lorry and paid Rs 50. Then they took about 1000 lorry loads of soil… yet they needed more soil to fill the road. Then they asked whether they could take more soil from my land. I agreed but I told them to fill my land. They agreed to my offer and they dug the land and took more soil.
In between they started to level the road. When they have been flattening the earth, the children who were seen playing around running behind these vehicles… these children have seen some beautiful unusual stones which they had collected and taken them home to play with them… the elders who had seen them playing with these stones have recognized that they are none other than expensive gems…the parents who have got to know that they were found from the road had gathered on to the road in numbers to search for gems..
That’s how they pounced upon my land…  I didn’t know anything until they came to my land.
The best thing had happened on the day the villages had come to my land. The driver of the ‘backo’ had been digging a mountain of soil and as he had raised the winnowing basket of the ‘backo’purposely, it had been full of gems. That man had stopped the machine and had jumped to the pit and had taken all the gems and had disappeared.
Finally the whole village was searching for gems in my land. I got to know about this at last… Everything was gone by then. I too scuffled with them and found a gem worth of only Rs 2 lakhs of Rupees.
Later the Police and the Army came and gave security to the whole land. The land was then taken over by Gem and Jewelry Authority… they drove me away. With the mediation of the villagers and the Grama Sevaka, I was given a small plot of land next to my brother’s and the whole land was taken over as state property.
Sir, the whole village earned from my land… and finally I, who cultivated on gems for over 10 years ended up on the road with a gem worth of Rs 2 lakhs only.
I heard that one gem picked up by a child was sold for Rs 2 million … yet what’s the point of thinking about those? This must be my misfortune.”
It is natural for once lucky people who had luck may become unlucky people. Likewise the resident of this land had to kick away his fortune as he could not legally claim for this land.
It is reported that he is staying in Slave Island at one of his friend’s place.

Newspaper report courtesy: Divaina by Saman Gamage