Steps will be taken to free the elephant corridors from the grip of encroachers and to establish a mechanism to make electrified fences extending to 600 kilometres in the Anuradhapura district function round the clock to keep elephants away from villages and farm lands.
This decision was taken at a meeting between the North Central Province Governor Wasantha Jinadasa and Anuradhapura District Secretary Ranjith Wimalasooriya.
The district farmer organisations maintain the majority of the electrified fences which have not been erected along the reservation boundaries. The growing encroachment of tank reservations is worsening the rapidly growing human-elephant conflict.
Anuradhapura District Assistant Director of Wildlife Conservation W.K.M.S. Chandrarathna told the Sunday Observer that there has been an increase in wild elephants raiding and invading human settlements and farm land due to the recent heavy rains, floods and spilling of tanks. He said that wildlife officials deployed in mobile units are engaged in elephant drive away operations from the villages and farm lands.
According to Assistant Director Chandrarathna, Rs. 94,377,666 was paid as compensation in 2024 to the victims of the human-elephant conflict in the Anuradhapura district.
