Akkarayan village in the Kilinochchi district has large forest areas. Majority of the people are farmers. The village has a hospital, market, and places of worship to serve the needs of the villagers.
When the Sri Lankan military launched the “Sathjeya” military operation from their Elephant Pass camp, people began displacing from their homes. The Kilinochchi district hospital, unable to continue its operation in Kilinochchi, shifted its operations temporarily to the Akkarayan hospital.
On 15.07.1997, the military started shelling from the Elephant Pass camp. Shells fell on and around the Akkarayan hospital. The hospital cleaner, Kanapathy, was living in a quarters with his family. The entire family was either killed or injured. In total three people were killed and one girl, Kamalaverni, lost her leg in the shelling.
Akkarayan hospital has a hall in memory of the family and is named Kanapathy hall.