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One of the world’s most densely laid minefields, it is three times the area of Central Park in New York
By S Rubatheesan
Lathaladhchumi wakes up before dawn to finish her household chores and catch the first bus to reach her workplace — a minefield in Muhamalai in Sri Lanka's northern district of Kilinochchi.
For almost a decade during the devastating civil war, this village, marked by a harsh sandy terrain filled with mangroves and cacti, was the active frontline between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The minefield spanning over 12 square kilometers served as the dividing line between the military-controlled area in Jaffna and the Vanni region held by the Tamil Tigers, before the end of the deadly conflict in 2009.
Lathaladhchumi, who was born and bred in Kudaththanai, barely six kilometers from the minefield, joined the international demining agency, The HALO Trust, in 2012.
The 49-year-old, slightly built woman now works as the second-in-charge of a demining team at Muhamalai, regarded as one of the most densely laid minefields in the world, equivalent in size to three times the area of Central Park in New York.
“We saw enough during the war, which affected us very badly. But now I feel there is a responsibility on our part to contribute to the community,” Lathaladhchumi told UCA News.
The HALO Trust began work in 2012, dividing the minefield into sectors due to its vastness.
In a social media post, the trust announced the completion of demining operations in Muhamalai North in June 2025, with 8 million square meters cleared and over 88,326 anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines removed.
More than 5,000 people benefited from it, the UK-based trust said.
Lathaladhchumi and her team have been engaged in clearing one patch of affected land at a time, working tirelessly for the past seven years to make it livable again.
“All the hard work is worth it, and it’s a great feeling when we return civilian lands to the people after clearing them of land mines and explosives,” she said.
Like many residents in the area, Lathaladhchumi and her family had to abandon their home multiple times during the civil war.
“I was also displaced multiple times, and I know what it feels like to be able to return to one’s homeland,” she said.
Lathaladchumi is among the hundreds of war-affected Tamil women in the former war-torn areas of the North. Many took up jobs as deminers in the post-war period. It became their prime source of income.
Recently, Lathaladchumi was given an honorary badge by the HALO Trust in recognition of her longstanding work and leadership skills.
The trust, founded in 1989, is billed as the world's largest humanitarian demining organization, operating in approximately 30 countries.
“Sri Lanka is only the second programme to have found and cleared 300,000 landmines in the history of The HALO Trust,” it said in a statement.
HALO has been able to support over 280,000 people in rebuilding their lives in Sri Lanka, "made possible by the dedication of our 1,200-strong Sri Lankan workforce,” the statement added.
However, it is estimated by experts that at least 1.6 million landmines and explosives remain unmarked in the former war-torn provinces of the North and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
Hugh Baker, program manager at the HALO Trust in Sri Lanka, said: “Every mine cleared represents a life or limb saved, safe land restored, and a community able to return and re-establish their lives and livelihoods.”
Arunthavaselvan Rasi from Nagarkovil, Jaffna, is another deminer who has been with the demining organization for over a decade.
On some days, clearing a small patch of land, littered with explosives and shrapnel, would take an entire day, if not days, for the whole team, she told UCA News.
“We underwent several stages of precautionary training, and we do try our best to ensure the safety of ourselves and the whole team, but accidents happen,” Rasi said.
Markandu Gunasekaran, a resident from Muhamalai who resettled in his village in 2022, told UCA News that his entire village is grateful to the demining teams.
“After the war broke out in 1990, we left our homes and properties. We were displaced multiple times throughout the war,” he recalled.
Gunasekaran also remembered the tragic death of a person during the demining operations a few years ago.
“It was because of the deminers' sacrifice that we are now able to return, rebuild our damaged homes and school in our village,” he said
“All of this was made possible by them.” (Courtesy- UCAN)
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