News

News

Who is killing the temple troupe?
By Nadia Fazlulhaq
The mystery deaths of monkeys in the Dambulla area are continuing amidst confirmation that they are caused by poisoning either by farmers or vendors in the area.

Dambulla MOH Dr. Hettiarachchi said he is positive the deaths are due to poisoning, but cannot say what type of a poison had been used to kill such a large number of monkeys. According to Dr. Hettiarachchi, more than 70 dead animals were found in open areas and in the forest near the Dambulla Rock.
Dambulla veterinary surgeon Dr. J. M. Seneviratne Banda said a body sample had been to the Peradeniya Veterinary Institute for further investigations. Dr. Seneviratne also said that the monkeys had been poisoned but that there were signs of injuries on their bodies.

For many years, the monkeys made famous in a television film as the ‘temple troupe’, have entertained worshippers who came to the Dambulla Rock Temple but these monkeys have also created much havoc destroying paddy crops and causing much trouble for the vendors on the streets, especially those selling food items. However it still remains a mystery who had poisoned such a large number of monkeys. Ven. Panditha Inamaluwe Sri Sumangala Thera of the Rangiri Dambulu Vihara told The Sunday Times it was normal if around eight to ten monkeys were poisoned by farmers.

The Thera said holding a CID investigation would be more effective as it would reveal what really happened but he was sure it cannot be true that a large number of monkeys were killed.

“It is a known fact that these monkeys cause a lot of trouble to farmers in the area but killing around 150 of them is not what people usually do. They poison around 10 of them to frighten away the other monkeys,” the Thera said. In a letter to the President the Thera requests a thorough police investigation to ascertain the reliability of the information presented by a certain environmental association. According to the Thera this is a planned attempt to give a bad name to the Rangiri Vihara.

Top

Back to News