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Minister’s brother, accomplice in remand for their wild ways
The arrest last week of Priyantha Sirisena, brother of Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, and another person, and their subsequent remand till October 30, by the Polonnaruwa Magistrate, on Tuesday (16), follows complaints by Wildlife Officers regarding an alleged assault on them, as well as damage done to the office’s property in Manampitiya.
The alleged assault had taken place when Wildlife officials were dispatched to provide security to a pile of sand stored in the jungle near the Mahaveli Ganga. These officers had come under attack by a group of 20 to 25 people who had come in vehicles belonging to Priyantha Sirisena.
T. Wijesinghe, Wildlife official in charge of the Manampitiya Wildlife office, told the Sunday Times around midnight on October 6, a group had entered the office premises and caused damage to property.
“We had a cupboard of files and other documents pertaining to information on illicit sand mining. These people had set fire to this cupboard, completely destroying its contents. They also damaged two motor cycles belonging to Wildlife officials,” he said.
This is not the first time such charges have been made against him.
A.M. Seneviratne, a Wildlife Ranger in Polonnaruwa, said Wildlife officials were assaulted on a previous occasion as well, when officials tried to stop them storing sand in the forest protected by Wildlife officials.
Seneviratne said that Priyantha Sirisena is engaged in large scale illicit sand mining in the Manampitiya area where the incident took place. “He has 30 tippers and two to three backhoes for this operation, and has been at it for over five years,” he said.
The Wildlife Ranger said there are many groups engaged in illicit sand mining in the area. “We know of 25to 30 groups, only in Manampitiya, who are presently carrying out this operation. However, the Wildlife Department is helpless, because the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) is involved in this matter,” he said.
He explained that the GSMB is issuing permits to mine in small streams, without even ascertaining if there is sand to mine in them. “There are instances where these people use heavy machinery and vehicles to mine sand. This is prohibited by the Wildlife Dept., because it causes soil erosion,” he added.
Health Minister Maitripala Sirisena told reporters last week that he himself had prompted police to take action against his brother Priyantha who was remanded last week for assaulting an official of the Wildlife Dept and causing damage to public property.
“I called up the Wildlife officials and the Polonnaruwa police and asked them to immediately arrest those involved in breaking the law, and not be deterred by the fact my brother was among the suspects,” the Minister said. “If I did not act against my brother, he will not be taken into custody. I don’t sympathise with anyone who has done wrong, and that is why I am in Parliament for the last 24 years,” he told the Sunday Times.
North Central Provincial Council Opposition Leader Kins Nelson told the Sunday Times that this illicit mining has being going on for many years, but police had failed to arrest these law breakers because they are related to a minister.
“Poor people who live on either side of the river, live off the money they get by mining in the river. These illicit sand miners do it on a large scale. They use backhoes and other machinery to mine sand in the river. Now people of the area have no choice but to work under them,” he said.
He welcomed the arrest of the brother of a minister from the ruling party.
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