Rs. 37.3 Mn compensated to elephant strike victims in Polonnaruwa this year

Rs.37.3 million has been allocated for the compensation of life and property damage caused by elephants in the Polonnaruwa region till now in 2023.

Last year (2022) there were 73 wild elephant deaths and 18 human deaths due to wild elephant activities in Polonnaruwa district and by August 21, 2023, 55 elephant deaths and 17 human deaths had occurred.

The number of incidents of property damage caused by wild elephants is 493 in 2022 and 474 on July 20, 2023, and the number of physical damage in 2022 is 13 and on July 20, 2023 the number is 12.

Polonnaruwa district public representatives, regional representatives and the community of that area met Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi and discussed the elephant-human conflict in Polonnaruwa area and the above facts came to light then.

During this discussion, it was revealed that an electric fence system with a length of more than 800 kilometers had been constructed to prevent elephants from entering the village through theentire wildlife reserve and other reserves in the Polonnaruwa region.

Wildlife Department officials disclosed that 350 troops of the Civil Defence Department have been deployed for the maintenance of the electric fence system and 400 multi-purpose development workers have been assigned as electric fence maintenance assistants.

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