The Jaffna Municipal Council has removed the name board of the newly established Barista outlet  located on Point Pedro Road near the Nallur Kovil in Jaffna, informing the company to obtain a proper permit, reports say.

The outlet in question is also located close to the Jaffna MC and had been opened only on May 09 this year. It is the chain’s second outlet in Jaffna with the older one located on the Hospital Road in Jaffna.

The nameboard removal had taken place on May 22 following intense opposition from a group of local residents, reports say.

On May 20, Thavathiru Velan Swami of the Nallur Shiva Guru Ashram in Jaffna, along with vegetarian Shiva devotees, launched a protest demonstration, calling for the immediate removal of the Barista near the Nallur Kovil. Citing that the outlet was a non-vegetarian one, they had appealed to the Jaffna MC to take action and remove the outlet due to its close proximity to the sacred site.

According to provincial reporters, the outlet is located about 400m from the Nallur Kovil, on land considered sacred Kovil property.

On May 21, they formally submitted a letter containing 100 signatures to the Municipal Commissioner reiterating their demand.

Claiming that the non-vegetarian Barista outlet on sacred Nallur land hinders the ethnic and religious coexistence, Thavathiru Velan Swamy has requested its closure in a letter to the Municipal Commissioner.

Copies of the letter submitted to the Municipal Commissioner by the protesters have also been sent to the Northern Provincial Governor, District Secretary, Secretary of the Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha, and the Director of the Department of Hindu Religious and Cultural Affairs.

Thavathiru Velan Swamy stated that on May 13, MC officials verbally instructed the outlet’s management to close, and he also sent a formal email to the company’s management on the same day.