17 October 2014 10:22 am
By Pathma Kumari Kankanamge
The Mohottuwarama government school in Kalpitiya is disturbed by wild donkeys that roam into classrooms and obstructing work. The teachers said students were compelled to keep away from classrooms to clear the droppings of donkeys and that it often disturbed normal school sessions. They pointed out that the donkeys roamed into the school which did not have a protective wall or fence.
Residents of the area said the donkeys who lost their natural habitats due to development activities were now roaming into home gardens. They pointed out that the donkey population will soon be extinct due to the loss of their breeding grounds in the mangroves.
A senior official of the Kalpitiya divisional secretariat said according to the last census on donkeys in Kalpitiya in 1996 the number stood at 450, but at present the figure has dropped to below 150.
Residents of the area said 800 acres of land had the firing range of the air force and vast stretches of mangroves had been cleared by prawn farmers chasing away the donkeys from their natural habitats.
They said more land was being cleared for tourism as well.