Udawalawe set on fire: Project flops

By Rohan Abeywardena

Suspected arsonists set fire to a section of the Udawalawe National park early yesterday for the third time in little over a month destroying about hundred acres before it was brought under complete control by around noon, Park Warden Dhammika Pebotuwa said the fire in the Mau Ara area of the park was detected by a mobile patrol around 3 a.m. It was put out by the park staff with the help of soldiers from the nearby army camp, home guards and about 35 volunteers from the Green Movement who were there to take part in the week-long shramadana campaign to uproot the invasive plant, lantana. The Sevanagala Sugar Company provided its fire engines to fight the inferno.

Mr. Pebotuwa said as a result of the three fires, about 400 acres of grass land had been destroyed. Yesterday was also the last day of the shramadana, which was to end with a small ceremony attended by Environment Minister Champika Ranawaka, but the Minister did not turn up possibly due to the unforeseen incident.

Lantana plants

We visited the area on Tuesday to see the success of the shramadana, but found that it hardly scratched the surface of the massive problem. Lantana, first introduced to this country in the 1920s through the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, is smothering out much of the grass and other flora in the 30,821 hectare park.

Elephants are the hardest hit by the uncontrolled spread of this plant. We counted about a dozen elephants standing by the park fence around noon for food handouts from passing vehicles on the Thanamalwila-Udawalawe Road.

Student volunteers who were there were simply not up to the task. Some of the schoolgirls who had attempted to uproot lantana bushes were seen nursing their hands full of blisters. Other than the Green Movement and a few NGOs, no big players were seen at the shramadana. Nor were students from any big schools other than Nalanda College, Colombo. But universities like Colombo and Sri Jayewardenepura had sent teams.

Of some 31 blocks demarcated, each 50 metres wide and 113 metres long, only less than 24 had been cleared of lantana by yesterday evening. So not even a.1per cent of the park had been cleared of the menace. In addition to lantana and man made fires, the elephants have to also compete for fodder with thousands of cattle smuggled into the park.

Deputy Warden Prasantha Wimaladasa said the fires could be the work of cattle farmers, who set fire to the dry grass, as thereafter the new shoots that come are ideal for cattle to feed on. They also suspect hunters to whom high grown dry grass is a hindrance as animals take natural cover in them. Even some previous campaigns to destroy the invasive plant had ended in failure. An ADB funded project ended with allegations of large scale corruption involving top officials.