By Rathindra Kuruwita

Environmentalists allege that several Members of Parliament (MPs) are planning to enter Wilpattu National Park on 07 July to reopen a road illegally constructed during the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration.

Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) told The Island that around 300 people, led by Muslim National Alliance (MNA) member Ali Sabri Raheem and State Minister of Rural Economy K. Kader Masthan, are among those expected to enter the park from Mannar and Puttalam. Th

“These individuals are attempting to create controversy around Wilpattu before an election for political gain,”

Chamikara said. “During the war, Wilpattu ceased to function as a national park as it was part of the war zone. In 2010, the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration built a road through Wilpattu and several other protected areas to connect Mannar and Puttalam, causing immense environmental damage. The Supreme Court later banned public use of the road, but now these individuals want to reopen it.”

Chamikara said the highest Court banned the road’s use due to its illegal construction and the significant threat it posed to the park’s survival. During the brief period it was open, travellers disrupted the environment by plucking fruits and villagers’ unleashed domesticated animals. Invasive plant species too spread.

Hemantha Withanage, Chair of Friends of the Earth International and Senior Advisor of the Centre for Environmental Justice, told The Island that the MPs and their supporters aimed to attract voters in Puttalam and Mannar with backing from high-ranking government officials.

He added that two groups from Mannar and Puttalam were planning to cross the park in SLTB buses, and meet at the Eluvankulama transit point.

“Can the SLTB provide buses for travel on a road closed to public transport? The Department of Wildlife Conservation has filed a case against this move, with a verdict expected on Friday (July 5),” Withanage noted.

Raheem said their intent was to assist people attending the Madu Church festival, and they had sought temporary approval from the Department of Wildlife for buses to travel on the road.

“The SLTB has agreed to provide buses, and we are only awaiting approval from the Department of Wildlife,” he said.