News
All victims: No winners, no vanquished
Sri Lanka is paying a heavy cost of the human-elephant conflict which hasclaimed more than 1,500 elephants and around 700 human lives during the past decade. Last year 66 human deaths and 252 elephant deaths were recorded. The past week saw five incidents in which poor farmers and elephants died in this ongoing conflict.
The majority of the incidents were reported from North Western Province, Uva Province, Mahaweli zone and in the Yala Bundala area. Last week, Herath Banda, a 66-year-old farmer from upper Puliyankulama in Karuwalagaswewa was killed by a wild elephant while he was in a hut on top of a tree guarding his chena cultivation.
The elephant broke his watch hut dragged him to the ground and trampled the farmer several times. The death of this father of six has left his family in grief and shock.
“This incident took place near the Thabbowa wildlife sanctuary. We were told that an enraged wild elephant and a few other elephants had managed to enter the villages avoiding the electric fences. But we farmers are helpless,” said a villager K.Sumanadasa.
He said, authorities should maintain the electric fences and ensure that the villages are secured from the beasts. Elephants too are innocent victims of these incidents. Our photographs show wild elephants which have been killed and injured in Anuradhapura and Dambulla. Most of the elephants have suffered gunshot injuries.
 Herath Banda was dragged out of his watch hut and trampled to death. |
 Dead and dying elephants at Dambula and Kalawewa. Victims shot by angry farmers (Pix By Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa |
 |
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus