News

Technology vital as human-elephant conflict turns deadly – Activist

Published

2 months ago

2026/08/17

Sahan Weerasooriya

Ananda Dissanayake and Dr Sumith Pilapitiya speaking at the press conference

Text and Pic by Dharmasena Welipitiya

Sri Lanka’s escalating human-elephant conflict has reached a tragic stage, with more than 400 elephants and nearly 200 people dying each year, environmental activist Ananda Dissanayake said last week.

Addressing a press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundation in Colombo to mark World Elephant Day, Dissanayake said the government and relevant authorities were implementing various measures to address the conflict, but elephants and their offspring continued to die on a daily basis.

He said 180 elephant deaths and 56 human deaths had been recorded so far this year.

Of the elephant deaths, around 75 were believed to have been caused by human activity, including about 30 elephants killed by gunfire, 23 by electrocution and 19 by explosives known as hakka patas.

Dissanayake warned that the measures currently being implemented would not produce the desired results unless modern technology was incorporated into efforts to prevent and monitor human-elephant conflict.

He said conventional approaches alone were inadequate to address the scale and complexity of the problem and called for technology-based solutions to be integrated into conservation and conflict-prevention measures.

Dr Sumith Pilapitiya, a wildlife conservation professional with more than 30 years of experience, stressed the need for a coordinated effort by all stakeholders to tackle the crisis.

The Government has introduced several measures to strengthen human-elephant conflict management, including the recruitment of Elephant Fence Assistant Officers, 5,000 Civil Defence Force personnel and Multi-Purpose Development Officers for conservation-related activities.

New electric fences are also being constructed using national budget allocations.

Camera systems and warning signboards are being installed along several railway lines, including the Gal Oya–Trincomalee, Gal Oya–Batticaloa, Northern and Mannar lines, to reduce elephant-train collisions.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation is also establishing a mobile hospital service for wild elephants to provide rapid medical attention to injured animals.

Meanwhile, an Expert and Monitoring Committee on Human-Elephant Conflict Management has been appointed, comprising representatives of relevant ministries, conservation agencies, experts and local communities, to formulate a systematic, long-term action plan.

The Ministry of Environment has said protecting elephants is essential to safeguarding Sri Lanka’s biodiversity, ecosystems, tourism, national economy and cultural heritage.

“Ensuring human-elephant coexistence by protecting lives and property in conflict areas while safeguarding the country’s precious wildlife heritage for future generations represents the practical realisation of the Government’s ‘Sustainable Biosphere, Green Life’ policy,” the Ministry said.

Dissanayake said the success of these measures would ultimately depend on the effective integration of modern technology into efforts to monitor, prevent and respond to human-elephant conflict.

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News

Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.