Villagers in Kalakiriyagama in Galewela live in fear of elephants. The jumbos roam the area even during the day.
One night last week a herd of seven animals strayed into the village and completely destroyed the entire cultivation of peasants in the area, bringing to naught months and years of toil.
A.G. Abhayakumara a peasant, said he cultivated bananas with much difficulty as a means of livelihood and the beasts had ruined his crop just as the crop was ready for harvesting.He said it took a year, much water and a lot of fertiliser for a banana tree to reach maturity. But the elephants destroyed the cultivation within minutes he said.
Another farmer –who had planted coconut trees-- said his trees which had just started bearing had also been destroyed by the elephants.
He said it took 6 to 7 years of hard labour to bring the trees to maturity. Eleven mature trees which produced around 60 nuts each had been destroyed by the elephants he mourned. He said he could not afford the loss.
The people complained relevant officials had done nothing to counter the problem despite several people having lost their lives to the human-elephant conflict.
Villagers were of the opinion the elephants needed to be chased back to the neighbouring forests.
The chairman of the pradeshiya sabha said he had made representations to the responsible authorities and said he expected them to take necessary action. |
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