News
Lanka in shock treatment to reduce elephant deaths
By Amal Jayasinha
Sri Lanka will more than double its anti-elephant electric fencing, a government minister said Wednesday, with more than 200 animals and nearly 100 people killed in human-elephant conflict so far this year.
Elephants are revered as a Buddhist symbol on the Indian Ocean island and carry caskets containing relics at temple pageants, but farmers are in constant conflict with the marauding animals raiding their crops.
Elephants are protected by Sri Lankan law as an endangered species and harming them can bring lengthy jail sentences, but there have been few prosecutions.This year, 94 people have been killed in elephant attacks — a much higher rate than the 146 in the whole of 2022, which was itself the highest on record.
Elephants themselves are shot or poisoned by farmers — 238 of them up to July 14 according to official figures, an average of just over one per day.Sri Lanka currently has 650 kilometres (400 miles) of electrified fencing to protect villages against elephants, but wildlife minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said another 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) would be added.
The high-tension fencing shocks an elephant but is not strong enough to kill it.
“We also need another 3,000 workers to man and maintain the new fences,” Wanniarachchi told reporters in Colombo.
“This is one way to minimise the human-elephant conflict.”
Increased conflict with wild elephants was partly due to farmers’ encroachment on forest lands as well as infrastructure projects shrinking animal habitat, she added.
In May, angry villagers stormed a remote government office after a herd of up to 50 elephants ravaged farmers’ fields near a wildlife reserve.A 2011 survey showed Sri Lanka had 7,379 elephants living in the wild, including about 1,100 calves, compared with 12,000 elephants in 1900. (AFP)
News
“Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival – Reflection on the Journey from Crisis to Recovery” by Mahinda Siriwardana presented to the President
The book “Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival – Reflection on the Journey from Crisis to Recovery” ,authored by Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Mahinda Siriwardana, was officially launched this morning (08) at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, with the participation of President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
The first copy of the publication was formally presented to President Disanayake by Mr. Siriwardana during the event.
It has been reported that former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias ‘Pilleyan’ has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and senior officials of SriLankan Airlines was held this afternoon (April 8) at the Presidential Secretariat.
The discussions mainly focused on proposals to transform SriLankan Airlines into a more profitable state-owned enterprise. Special attention was also given to possible short-term and long-term solutions for the airline’s debt management.
The talks further explored new investment opportunities for the airline. The President instructed the officials to take all necessary steps to transform SriLankan Airlines into a profit-making entity.
Although the airline has recorded operational profits, due to past mismanagement and poor decision-making, it remains one of the leading loss-making state enterprises. The current government has decided to reverse the previous administration’s decision to privatize the airline. Instead, it plans to continue operating it as the national carrier while introducing a new management structure to ensure its profitability moving forward.
Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, President’s Senior Advisor Duminda Hulangamuwa, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines Sarath Ganegoda along with several senior officials of SriLankan Airlines, were present at the meeting.
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