11 December 2020 09:45 pm
Sri Lanka has become the country where the highest number of elephants die as a result of human-elephant conflict despite spending Rs 86 million annually to maintain the electric fence, it was revealed at the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) meeting.
It has been revealed by the Wilde Life officers that around 272 elephants die annually while around 407 elephants die as a result of human elephant conflict in 2019.
It was also revealed that 122 humans die annually. The human elephant conflict has been existing in Sri Lanka for the last 60 years but the country has not been able to resolve the issue yet.
It was also revealed that a sum of Rs 86 million is spent annually to maintain the electric fence while a sum of Rs 150 million has been paid for the Civil Defence Force this year.
Chairman of COPA Professor Tissa Vitharana advised to set up a committee comprising all stake holders to resolve the issue. ( Yohan Perera)