Thanks to Ele-Friendly Bus: Meegolla School students now take bus ride through ‘elephant corridor’

The relaunching of the Ele-Friendly Bus Service offers a lasting, sustainable solution to schoolchildren being exposed to the threat of   encountering elephants while walking to school. The picture shows the bus been shown to the officials of Meegolla Primary/Junior Secondary School. The project happened thanks to a joint efforts of Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society and the Department of Wildlife Conservation 

Students of Meegolla Junior School are seen travelling in the new bus

Safe school transportation has returned for 68 children living on the frontlines of Sri Lanka’s human-elephant conflict

The EleFriendly bus is geared to transport school children residing in Dungolla and Kandeyaya villages safely to and from school

Students of Meegolla Primary/Junior Secondary School have walked to school via active elephant movement corridors due to lack of buses 

In a bid to reduce the Human-Elephant Conflict, the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) following a request from the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) launched SLWCS’ second phase of the project “EleFriendly Bus Service” on July 6, 2026 at Kandy district’s Meegolla Junior School. EleFriendly Bus Service is a safe, community–operated transport service that can take commuters through elephant corridors to their destination. The EleFriendly bus is geared to transport school children residing in Dungolla and Kandeyaya villages safely to and from school.

The launching of the project “EleFriendly Bus Service” was held at the Meegolla Junior School ground with the participation of governmental and non-governmental officials. In light of these events, the Daily mirror obtained the views of officials and residents in the area during the relaunching ceremony. 

A farsighted project

Earlier this year, SLWCS received an urgent appeal from the Principal of Meegolla Primary/Junior Secondary School in the Teldeniya Educational Division, Kandy District. His students-children from the farming villages of Dungolla, Kandeyaya, Govigammanya, Pamunupara and Himbutuwa- were walking several kilometres to school each day, straight through active elephant movement corridors.

*Speaking to the Daily Mirror, SLWCS President Ravi Corea said: “What our preliminary assessment unearthed was sobering. Children encountered elephants almost daily on the way to and from school. Morning classes were routinely delayed because elephant movements made the road unsafe. In the surrounding villages-roughly 150 households and 600 people who live almost entirely from subsistence farming-the conflict had already taken a devastating toll.” According to SLWCS data, two people were killed in the past two years with two elephants losing their lives. The damage to family homes was also reported in the same period along with crop raiding incidents during cultivation seasons. Corea said that the Ele-Friendly Bus Service offered a lasting, sustainable solution that protected people and elephants by giving children safe access to education and reducing human activity in elephant habitats, fostering long-term coexistence rather than conflict.

Simple concept, Proven in Wasgamuwa

The EleBus is built on one deceptively simple idea; protecting people helps protect elephants. Instead of erecting costly barriers to separate people and elephants, the bus safely carries children through elephant landscapes during peak hours of elephant activity thus removing the daily foot traffic that so often escalates into tragedy and retaliation.

The pioneering EleBus was introduced in the Wasgamuwa Elephant Corridor in 2015 through the combined efforts of SLWCS, Asian Elephant Support, and other dedicated partners. After years of providing children with safe access to school, the route was eventually integrated into the government’s rural transport network, reflecting the programme’s long-term success.

Department of Wildlife Conservation 

DWC Ranger Mahinda Wijayasingha also shared his views on the project. He said that initially he had identified the necessity of proper transportation facilities for school children as they often confronted elephants and even encountered near-death situations. “Now the parents do not need to fear and can focus on their farming activities as their children are transported to and from school safely. Most of the parents are poor, and they can now send their children to school without extra expenses. Therefore, this project benefits both parents and children alike,” he said.  

Impact on education

“The human-elephant conflict in the area has disrupted the education of students. For more than three decades, students and parents had no proper solution,” said G. P. Karunarathna, Vice Principal of Meegolla Junior School. He said: “But with the advent of this bus service, students are able to attend school and continue their education sans obstacle. Especially during the rainy season, students find it difficult to travel along this route. Besides, residents in the area confront elephants quite often. Now they don’t have any reason to fear as they have a proper transportation service. Moreover, when the school attendance is high, it positively affects exam results.” He said that as a teacher, he hoped that the students would continue to attend classes without disruptions. He said that the new transport facility will have a positive impact on their exam results.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, a farmer and resident of Kandeyaya, W.M. Ariyasinghe said, “Students used to go to school walking several miles. This discouraged children from attending classes regularly. They did not have a mindset to engage in studies. This bus service offers a great service to the students in the area. We are quite delightful as parents. There had been days when we had to accompany our children out of fear that they would be attacked by elephants.”

He said that there had also been instances where children confronted wild elephants. “The students used to walk eight kilometres a day from their homes to school as well as from school to their homes. Some students reach home quite late. With this bus service coming to being, precious time would not be wasted,” he added.