Sri Lankan military helps settle Sinhalese fishermen in Tamil North-East  03 July 2016 Hundreds of Sinhalese families have been settled into Mullaitivu with the assistance of the Sri Lankan military said a member of the Northern Provincial Council. T Raviharan, an NPC member, said that hundreds of Sinhalese families have settled in the Nayaru region and have been actively assisted by Sri Lankan troops. He noted that in 2011, 72 Sinhalese families were granted temporary passes to the region, which allowed them to fish in Nayaru waters with the help of the military, despite protests from local Tamil fishermen. Today that number has swelled to more than 290 families. At the Kokkulaai Estuary, the situation was even more dire, said Mr Raviharan. 13 families were granted temporary passes in 1982, he noted. Now over 500 families have settled in the region, he said.