News
Crop pest count to be re-checked by state officials: Deputy Minister
View(s):The Agriculture Ministry would not release the results obtained from the problem animal census without verification, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne.
A second count will be done in areas where the pest animal count was high, he said. Grama Niladhari and Samurdhi development officers, economic development officers will handle the task.
The ministry aims to provide scientific and accurate figures of Macaques, Langur monkeys, giant squirrels as well as peacocks.
Meanwhile, Hemantha Aamarasinghe, director (agriculture technology) of the Ministry of Agriculture, explained that even though it was said that the deadline for district results of the animal census was Friday, results are still coming in.
Even though results from all districts are due by Tuesday 1 April, 2025, results will not be released until verified.
Mr Amarasinghe said several areas would be selected and a “sample test” will be done to check accuracy of figures. This might take two more weeks, he said. Thereafter results collected by the people in the area and the state officials would be compared for accuracy.
Mr Amarasinghe, who is also a member of Special Committee for Reducing Damages Caused by Wild Animals said that once accuracy is verified, the data would be analysed.
“The number of animals is not the important aspect, the recommendations are the important part. Those recommendations would be handed over to the agriculture ministry secretary,” he said.
The recommendations would be discussed with wildlife experts, environmentalists, conservationists, and animal rights groups. Mr Amarasinghe urged experts to share their input.
The final report would take several months.
Kandy district National People’s Power legislator Jagath Manuwarna said that Macaque monkeys which damage crops in Kandy would be caught and released into a 200 acre island near Randenigala reservoir. An electric fence will be built. He has visited the island.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!