News
President dispatches experts to investigate Wilpattu destruction
The plundered reserve
After months of inaction in the face of allegations of plundering of the Wilpattu National Park and its environs, President Maithripala Sirisena stepped in this week to get a firsthand assessment of the situation.
The President, on Friday, dispatched a team of experts to investigate the allegations of deforestation in the Mannar District, including Wilpattu sanctuary .
And while the experts’ view on the matter will be made known shortly, reports from the area indicate that the Wilpattu Nature Reserve (WNR) is gradually losing its forest cover, with large tracts being cleared to resettle people in the area. The allegations have been leveled at a powerful minister and his cohorts from the area, but Government officials based there too, have remained inactive in the face of the destruction taking place.
The Seelawatura and Willathikulam reservations located some 10 km away from Wilpattu, also face this plunder, with settlements coming up in these areas too.
This plundering of the wildlife park began in 2011 and has gone on unabated until environmental rights groups began to highlight the issues.
The Sunday Times learns that more than 750 acres have been encroached and cleared using heavy machinery, for housing units. The timber from the felled trees too are being transported.
The WNR alone is spread out in an area around 5,425 acres and is rich in flora and fauna, and is a protected area.
It was declared a Natural Forest Reserve during the British in 1938. Then it included 54,953 hectares spreading to the Anradhapura and Puttalam districts. Thereafter, its land mass decreased from time to time with annexures in 1967, 7024.4 hectors, in 1969, 22,981.4 hectares, another 25,252.9 hectares in end 1969, while in 1973, 21,484.8 hectares were declared a forest reserve, under the Forest Preservation Act. The sub feeding reservations are around the main reservation, like Kallaru, Wilpattu North Reservation, Tabbova Reservation, Weerakoddichol and Elluwankulam.
The settlements that are coming up
The whole forest area is irrigated by the major waterways in the Wayamba Province, such as Thala Oya, Modagam Aru and Malwattu Oya.
Some 3,000 acres have been plundered in violation of environmental regulations.
The Forest Preservation Act No 20 prohibits clearing of the forest, construction of roads, housing, cultivation, timber sales and other human activity.
The Willatikulam Environment Front including Ven. Ananda Sagara of the Bhikku Front is among those who have been agitating for an end to the destruction of Wilpattu.