25 October 2023 10:23 am Views - 118
By Dayaratne Embogama
A herd of wild elephants that roamed into Thalgahapothana and Dachchahalmillewa villages on Sunday night (22) had caused much havoc destroying cultivated land and home garden crops.
The villagers said they had been facing the threat of the marauding herd of about 13 jumbos roaming into the villages in Kahatagasdigiliya division from a nearby forest reserve for the last weeks, but the wildlife conservators turned a deaf ear to their representations in this regard.
They said they were living in constant fear of any possible danger to their life and that they would not step out after dusk even in case of an urgent sickness.
A mango cultivator of Thalgahapothana G.L.Jayasundara (51) said more than 12,000 fruits in his mango cultivation had been gulped down in one night.
“I purchased about 250 mango plants of Tom JC variety for Rs. 750.00 each for my cultivation of two acres. Devastating of crops on the verge of harvest incurred me a loss of more than Rs.01 million. My initial expenses for mango cultivation was more than Rs.5 million. I could have had a bumper harvest if not for the crop devastation caused by wild elephants. However, all my hopes were shattered,” he said.
Villagers requested the wildlife conservators to focus immediate attention on their predicament.