 The former residents of the area have been evacuated; although it was initially claimed that this was due to security reasons subsequent research by a number of non governmental organisations has cast doubt on this claim.Limited resettlement began in 2002 but was not completed.In 2013 the Government of Sri Lanka attempted to put their claim to this land on a legal footing by claiming that the land was needed for a "public purpose" and that the previous inhabitants of the land could not be found.