MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka — Young people and community activists in Mullaitivu District are opposing a proposal to move the district office of the National Youth Services Council from Mankulam to Oddusuddan, and are calling on the government to build the office on land in Mankulam that was set aside for it in 2012.
The land, a plot along the A9 highway, was cleared and fenced for a district office 14 years ago, but no building was ever put up. The council's Mullaitivu office still operates from rented premises in Mankulam.
Officials are now considering moving the office to a Road Development Authority building in Oddusuddan, according to people familiar with the proposal. No final decision has been announced.
Opponents, particularly young people in the western part of the district, say Mankulam is much easier to reach. They say a move to Oddusuddan would make it harder for young people from Manthai East and Thunukkai, where public transportation is limited, to use the office.
Mankulam lies on the A9, the main north-south highway through northern Sri Lanka, and is a transport junction for the region. Residents and civic groups have long argued that its location makes it suitable for government offices serving communities across the north.
The council began operating in Mullaitivu District in 2010, the year after Sri Lanka's civil war ended. With no premises of its own, it first worked from a room in the Oddusuddan Divisional Secretariat.
Officials and youth representatives later chose Mankulam as the site for a permanent district office because it was easier for young people and staff to reach from different parts of the district, according to people involved in the discussions.
The land was secured in 2012 through the efforts of K.D.C. Gamini, then the district youth services officer for Mullaitivu; Sisira Seneviratne, an assistant director; and Vimaleswari Srikantharuban, then the council's Northern Province director. After the site was cleared and fenced, requests were made for funds to build the office. The building was not constructed, and the office moved into rented space in Mankulam, where it has remained.
A group of officials and politicians recently inspected the Road Development Authority building in Oddusuddan as a possible home for the office, according to people familiar with the visit. They included Mr. Gamini, who is now the council's Northern Province director, and Sellathamby Thilaganathan, a member of Parliament from the governing party.
Opponents of the move pointed out that Mr. Gamini had helped secure the Mankulam land in 2012.
They say the failure to build on land already obtained for the council should not be used as a reason to move the office elsewhere. If suitable government premises are needed in the meantime, they say, there are Road Development Authority buildings in Mankulam that could house the office until a permanent one is built.
Community activists in Mankulam said the office should not be moved for what they called "narrow interests," though they did not offer evidence of a political motive behind the proposal.
