News
Villagers live in fear for their lives and livelihoods
Rampaging wild elephants are increasingly damaging homes and crops in the Puttalam District with villages living in fear.
Villages that were largely spared of grave threats from wild elephants are now facing daily confrontations, villagers say.
Villagers in Karuwalagaswewa, Vanathavilluwa, Nawagattegama, Maha Kumbukkadawala, Pallama, Arachchikattuwa and Anamaduwa say their lives have been turned upside down.
Chena cultivators whose livelihoods depend on growing green gram, cowpea, sesame, peanuts and corn have seen entire harvests wiped out. Paddy farmers too spend sleepless nights guarding their fields from elephants. Coconut cultivators tell a similar story. In the past two decades around two million coconut trees have been destroyed in elephant attacks.
Villagers say land alienation is the root cause of the problem. They say that wild herds, once confined to the Vanathavilluwa and Karuwalagaswewa ranges bordering Wilpattu, were gradually displaced after large portions of state land were handed to large-scale businessmen with the backing of govt. officials. The elephants, deprived of their habitat, have since intruded deeper into villages.
Meanwhile, the Department of Wildlife Conservation has come under scrutiny for failing to offer long-term solutions. Its main response, driving elephants away with gunfire or relocating the animals, have been proved costly and ineffective. The conflict has also taken a heavy human toll, with dozens killed in encounters in recent years. Families say they feel helpless and abandoned by the government. A large number of elephants have also died in retaliatory attacks.
Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Prof. Chandana Abeyratne admitted the severity of the crisis. “On the people’s side they are helpless. On the elephants’ side, they are also helpless, because the lands they once had are now used for human activities. The problem is at a very difficult stage. Solving it is a massive challenge. But a proper mechanism is urgently needed,” he said.
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