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Plantation community:

One third registered voters without NICs


by P.Krishnaswamy

Several trade unions and political parties representing the plantation community, have expressed concern that a large percentage of their people would not be able to exercise their franchise in the February 7 Provincial Council polls for want of identity cards.

Leaders of political parties in the UPFA alliance told the Sunday Observer that in spite of efforts initiated by them to facilitate the issue of identity cards to those not in possession of them, there was still a large shortfall which is likely to impair their turn out at the polls.

According to leaders of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), Upcountry People’s Front (UPF), Up-country National Workers’ Union (UNWU) and Ceylon Plantation Red Flag Union (CPRFU) that are contesting the polls on UPFA ticket, over 30 percent of the registered voters among the Indian origin community of the plantation estates were without identity cards.

CWC President and Deputy Minister of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development, Muthu Sivalingam, told the Sunday Observer that they had requested all authorities, including the Commissioner for Registration of Persons, the relevant District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries to facilitate the issue of temporary ICs to those without ICs so that they could exercise their franchise at the upcoming polls.

Since the last date for obtaining the temporary ICs is December 31, it is very unlikely that everyone without the national identity cards will be able to get the temporary ICs. As a long-term solution the CWC has insisted on the appointment of more Grama Niladharis from the plantation community to address problems faced by the community in relation to non-registration of births and non-issue of identity cards. About 200 Indian origin Grama Niladharis were already appointed in Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts under measures initiated by them, he said.

UPF Deputy President A.Lawrence said that citizenship status was bestowed on the plantation community at various stages and the process of merging them into the mainstream with the creation of an adequate number of administrative divisions commensurate with their population concentration, is the basic reason for problems now being encountered by them in relation to issue of identity cards, BCs and other documents. According to the norm, there should be one GS division for every 350 families or 1,750 persons, he said.

According to a survey conducted by them, of the total 452,395 registered plantation voters in the Nuwara-Eliya district 71,000 persons were without ICs.Only a very small number of them will be able to obtain the temporary ICs now being issued by the Divisional Secretaries before December 31 deadline, he said.

Leader of the UNWU and Deputy Minister of Justice and Law Reform V.Puththirasigamoney said that although the GSs and Divisional Secretaries had agreed to issue the temporary ICs there was a marked lethargy on the part of the persons concerned to approach the authorities, may be because they are not literate.

Their union in coordination with the Department for Registration of Persons had organised mobile services to the plantation areas for issuing ICs. Reaching them individually is a difficult exercise but they hoped to reach them through the electronic and print media in the future for helping them to get ICs, he said.

O.A.Ramiah, General Secretary of the CPRFU said that the want of ICs among a considerable percentage of the plantation community will impair their full representation in the PCs.

They also encounter problems in getting jobs outside the plantations due to this reason, he said.

P.P.Devaraj, former Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) parliamentarian and incumbent Chairman of the Foundation for Community Transformation, an NGO working for the welfare of the Indian origin community, told the Sunday Observer that according to surveys conducted by them in Nuwara Eliya and other districts in the Central Province, over 35 percent of registered voters from the plantation estates were not in possession of national identity cards.
sundayobserver.lk