
NCP Governor
Wasantha Jinadasa
The North Central Province has the highest number and intensity of Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) incidents compared to other provinces. This was revealed at a meeting convened by North Central Governor Wasantha Jinadasa last week.
The meeting at the Governor’s Office, included stakeholders such as Wildlife and Forest Conservation officials, Divisional Secretaries, and Departmental heads.
Secretary to the Governor, Vijaya Wanasinghe told the Sunday Observer that of the 29 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the province, 27 have witnessed a sharp rise in HEC in recent years. The most vulnerable areas include Welikanda, Dimbulagala, and Medirigiriya in the Polonnaruwa District and Horowpothana, Kebithigollewa, Galenbindunuwewa, Thirappane, Kahatagasdigiliya, Nuwaragam Palatha Central, Wilachchiya, and Thambuththegama in the Anuradhapura District.
The Governor has instructed immediate action through a strategic plan incorporating short-term, mid-term, and long-term solutions. The authorities have decided to set up five elephant corridors in the Anuradhapura District at the Digampothana 5th Post, Nachchaduwa-Mahakandarawa, Nachchaduwa-Wilpattu, and Puliyankulama as a mid-term strategy. Steps will be taken to prevent encroachment on protected areas, manage elephant habitats by growing grasslands, and rehabilitate water tanks in conservation zones.
Short-term measures include forming HEC disaster mitigation committees at village, divisional, district, and provincial levels. The authorities will also work on identifying, capturing, and relocating isolated, problematic male elephants as a priority measure. Wanasinghe said that the responsibility of implementing these strategies lies with the Wildlife, Forest, Irrigation, and Agrarian Development Departments, the Divisional Secretariats and the Mahaweli Authority. Farmer organisations are expected to play a crucial role in supporting these efforts voluntarily.