-By Staff Correspondent (LankaeNews – Investigations Desk)
(Lanka-e-News - 28.Sep.2025, 11.50 PM)
When visitors first arrive at the gates of Reecha Theme Park in northern Sri Lanka, they are greeted not by rollercoasters or smiling mascots, but by a giant carved map of “Tamil Eelam” — the short-lived, bloody dream of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The symbol, etched into stone and proudly displayed at the park’s entrance, has ignited furious debate in Colombo’s political salons and beyond.
The park, built across 150 acres of prime land, claims to be an “eco-friendly paradise where adventure, serenity, and sustainability coexist.” Yet behind this lofty branding lies a web of unanswered questions about money, licensing, taxation, animal welfare, and national security — all of which converge on one man: Mr. Baskaran, the park’s founder and an entrepreneur of mysterious origins.
For Baskaran, the son of a modest family with no formal higher education and no known background in leisure or tourism, the very existence of Reecha is extraordinary. How did he acquire such land? Who funded the multimillion-dollar rides and luxury hotels? And why is this theme park, which markets itself as an eco-destination, simultaneously banning poor Sri Lankans from bringing packed lunches — a restriction that critics say reeks of elitism and profiteering?
Lanka E News set out to investigate.
Baskaran first emerged in business circles not through hospitality but via a mobile phone company of dubious reputation. That enterprise, once loudly marketed as a disruptor, fell under scrutiny by regulators amid allegations of tax evasion, poor service, and suspicious overseas financing. Though it never quite collapsed, the company’s shadow continues to haunt Baskaran.
Investigators within Sri Lanka’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) have long tracked suspicious capital flows linked to his ventures, some routed through Malaysia, others through Dubai. “It was always unclear whether Baskaran was a genuine entrepreneur or a front for something larger,” said one senior banking source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Now, with Reecha Theme Park, the same questions are resurfacing.
The most glaring controversy is the Tamil Eelam map at the park’s entrance. To some visitors, it is simply an ornamental stone carving, a nod to northern Tamil culture. To others, it is a brazen display of separatist nostalgia, potentially violating Sri Lanka’s delicate post-war peace.
“How can the government allow a public commercial enterprise to flaunt a secessionist symbol?” asked a retired general, himself a veteran of the civil war. “If you replace that map with an LTTE flag, would anyone call it art? This is not cultural preservation — it is provocation.”
How Baskaran came to acquire 150 acres of land is another puzzle. Deeds obtained by The Lanka E News show transfers through shell companies, one of which was registered under a hotel later identified as Baskaran’s associate.
Local villagers claim they were offered meagre compensation to sell ancestral land. “They told us it was for a government eco-project,” said one farmer. “Only later did we see it was for a private amusement park.”
Environmental lawyers are now probing whether the acquisition complied with Sri Lanka’s Land Reforms Act. If irregularities are proven, the entire foundation of Reecha may rest on shaky legal ground.
Among ordinary Sri Lankans, perhaps the most resented policy is Reecha’s outright ban on outside food. Families arriving with homemade rice parcels are turned away unless they buy overpriced meals from the park’s restaurants, where a simple thali costs the equivalent of three days’ wages for a casual labourer.
“Eco-friendly, yes. Family-friendly, no,” quipped one parent on social media. Others note that the ban effectively segregates visitors: wealthy tourists and expatriates inside, struggling locals outside.
That such a rule was imposed by Baskaran — a man with no background in public health, tourism management, or hospitality standards — has only deepened suspicion, but boasting about his business success to Diplomats in Colombo with made up stories.
The Board of Investment (BOI), which usually oversees large-scale projects, could not confirm whether Reecha is formally registered. “It does not appear in our approved portfolio,” said one BOI officer.
Meanwhile, local council officials complain that the park has delayed or avoided paying amusement taxes, citing “sustainability exemptions.” Yet Sri Lankan tax law contains no such category. The Inland Revenue Department has opened an inquiry.
Equally murky is the question of the park’s zoological attractions. Reecha advertises “eco-lodges with exotic animals,” yet animal welfare activists allege violations of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. Photographs show deer and peacocks crammed into cages, while unlicensed elephant rides have been reported.
Health inspectors who attempted to review the facilities in 2024 were allegedly denied entry by private security guards. “They treat it like a sovereign territory,” said one inspector.
How did Baskaran finance this utopian — or dystopian — enterprise? Independent accountants estimate the park’s construction cost at least $45 million. No Sri Lankan bank records show loans of that magnitude under Baskaran’s name.
Rumours swirl of diaspora financing, possibly linked to LTTE remnants abroad. Others point to shell companies in Singapore and Malaysia that mysteriously injected capital. “This is not just about a theme park,” said a Colombo-based analyst. “This is about whether Sri Lanka is hosting a money-laundering operation in plain sight.”
Adding to the intrigue is Baskaran’s personal paperwork. Immigration records suggest he has switched between residential visas, some obtained through “investment schemes,” others through diplomatic back channels. His Sri Lankan driving licence is under review, allegedly acquired without a proper test.
More troubling are claims of historic LTTE ties. While no direct evidence links him to financing the Tigers during the war, several former cadres identify him as a “business facilitator” who arranged overseas remittances. If true, it raises uncomfortable questions about whether Sri Lanka inadvertently legitimised a war-era financier as a modern tourism mogul.
Rechaa’s official brochure reads like a hymn to sustainability:
“To become a world-renowned eco-friendly destination that blends adventure, serenity, and sustainability… where organic farming thrives alongside thrilling experiences, high-quality hospitality, and the beauty of nature.”
The vision is polished, aspirational, and Instagram-ready. Organic farms, luxury hotels, sustainable dining. But scratch the surface and the contradictions pile up. A supposed eco-park that cages animals. A sustainable venture that thrives on overpriced imported goods. A family-friendly destination that excludes packed lunches.
In short: an eco-brand masking a capitalist fiefdom.
Why has the Ranil’s government not acted? Some suggest simple negligence. Others suspect political complicity. Rumours in Colombo allege that certain former ministers, from the Previous Government receive generous “donations” from Reecha’s coffers.
Parliamentary committees have yet to summon Baskaran, but opposition MPs are demanding inquiries into:
The land deal
The BOI licence
Tax compliance
Animal welfare violations
Potential LTTE-linked financing
Whether such investigations will materialise remains to be seen.
Reecha Theme Park, in many ways, reflects Sri Lanka itself: a country of natural beauty, entrepreneurial ambition, and cultural complexity — yet also of corruption, inequality, and unresolved ghosts of war.
For now, Baskaran’s empire continues to expand. Hotel bookings are full, diaspora visitors arrive in droves, and glossy advertisements lure tourists with promises of serenity. But behind the rollercoasters and organic farms, the unresolved questions grow louder:
Is Reecha truly eco-friendly or merely greenwashing?
Is it an innocent business or a front for laundering?
Is the Tamil Eelam map a cultural artefact or a political provocation?
And most fundamentally: who exactly is Baskaran?
Until Sri Lanka demands answers, the gates of Reecha will remain open — to families with disposable income, to investors with opaque motives, and to suspicions that the past is not buried, but landscaped into an amusement park.
-By Staff Correspondent
---------------------------
by (2025-09-28 23:24:36)
Read 28332 Times
Leave a Reply
0 discussion on this news