Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), will deliver a lecture on “BIMSTEC at 30: Three Decades of Partnership, Progress and Regional Cooperation” from 4.30 pm to 6.00 pm on 10 September at the Lighthouse Auditorium, Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to the project to provide technological solutions to prevent wild elephants from being hit by trains was signed yesterday (01) afternoon at the President’s Media Centre, under the patronage of Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

Coordinated through the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme, the project is being implemented as a public-private partnership, with the Railway Department, the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Forest Conservation Department working together, with full financial support from People’s Bank.

The system consists of three-beam detection, passive infrared (PIR) sensors, automatic temperature sensors and a tamper alarm system to detect animals weighing more than 20 kilogrammes and unauthorised interference. Signal lights (red/yellow/green) installed on either side of the railway tracks, together with a special screen installed inside the locomotive cab, will alert the driver in advance to the exact location of an elephant.

A demonstration test of the system was successfully conducted at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage premises in the presence of the relevant officials, following which a report on the system was prepared.

The system will be implemented as a pilot project from next month at 13 locations where wild elephant accidents are frequent. A newly developed website is also scheduled to be launched to enable the progress of the project to be viewed live.

Additional General Manager of Railways P.D.S.B. Chandrasena, Director General of Wildlife Conservation M.S.L.R.P. Marasinghe, Conservator General of Forests S.C. Palamakuumbura and Chairman of People’s Bank Chandana Guniyangoda signed the relevant MoU. Officials from the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, including Presidential Additional Secretary (Clean Sri Lanka) Engineer S.P.C. Sugeeshwara, as well as senior officials from the Railway Department, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Forest Conservation Department and People’s Bank, were also present.

[President’s Media Division]