Coastal Adivasi community given a special ID card to continue their livelihood

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has taken steps to provide an identity card to the Coastal Adivasi community, a special group of people living along the eastern coast.

About 2,000 Coastal indigenous people live in the Muthur area, and they are a group of people believed to be descendants from Kuveni.

Fishing is their main livelihood, however due to the current shortage of kerosene, they have been forced to leave their fishing livelihoods and return to collect wild honey.

Under the existing economic crisis and the legal background, they had to face many problems in the past since they were not allowed to enter into the forests to collect wild honey, said Kuveni Adivasi People's Welfare Organization President, Muthur Adivasi leader K. Kanagaratnam .

The Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission Commissioner Dr. Nimal Karunasiri stated that the Coastal Adivasis had informed the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission about their problems, and after an investigation, the relevant officials visited the area and decided to provide identity cards for harvesting honey.