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Eight arrested over tree felling on Wilpattu border
View(s):Eight persons have been arrested for cutting down a range of old trees in the Wilpattu National Park.
They had cut down 18 trees on the border of the buffer zone of the Wilpattu National Park, including a Goda Kirilla tree aged 300 years, on the basis of a licence provided by the Karuwalagaswewa Divisional Secretary.
The Wildlife Officer in charge of Karuwalagaswewa said that the Divisional Secretariat had, without much consideration of borders, provided permission to cut down these trees in the Kala Oya Nilabemma area, which belongs to the buffer zone.
The Divisional Secretary had provided a long-term contract for a five acre land without marking proper borders and thereby, the trees had been cut down.
Among the eight arrested, four are residents of Rajanganaya, and the other four are residents of Nilabemma. Machinery used on the site was also seized.
The Puttalam District Assistant Wildlife Director, Eranda Gamage expressed his criticism.
“According to the Fauna and Flora Ordinance, nobody can commit such an atrocity. Further, no officer can say that he does not know the borders,” he stated.
However, the Karuwalagaswewa Divisional Secretary, Thushara Balasuriya claimed that he was acting based on borders pointed out by a report of the Grama Niladhari of the area.
“There are no borders marked depicting the section after Kala Oya as Wilpattu. Without marked borders, how are we supposed to know if it is Wilpattu or Thabbowa?” he asked.
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