Sat, Aug 3, 2013, 08:45 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Aug 03, Colombo: Another protester who was injured when the army and police cracked down a protest by the residents of Weliweriya succumbed to his injuries today, police said. The village of Weliweriya in the Gampaha district of Sri Lanka's Western Province became a mini war zone on Thursday when the Army fired on protesters demanding the government to provide clean water and close down a glove manufacturing plant that is allegedly polluting the ground water resources.
The military was deployed to assist the police when the police could not control the tense situation.
The military fire fatally wounded a bystander, 17-year-old student Akila Dinesh Thursday and injured scores of people.
There is no army presence in the village now but police and Special Task Force (STF) are heavily guarding the deserted village.
The new Army Commander, whose first day in office was marred by the military crackdown, has appointed a 5-member board of inquiry to probe the army's conduct during the clash. The report of the inquiry is expected in two weeks.
Meanwhile, the government says it has taken immediate measures to provide drinking water by tankers until the facilities are set up in the area to provide pipe-borne water.
The government has blamed "disruptive elements with vested interests" for creating the tense situation and instigating a clash with military personnel and police after the government has reached an amicable solution to the crisis with the residents.