Marauding elephant herd wreak havoc in Ennungoda village

By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe   

A herd of more than 20 wild elephants that raided the Kottukachchiya division has wreaked havoc, destroying houses and cultivated land. Villagers who expressed concern about the threat of wild elephants in the area, said civilian life in several villages had been disrupted.   

They said the marauding herd caused extensive damage to several houses and destroyed cultivated land and home garden crops. The villagers said more than 50 coconut trees in the Enungoda village had been pulled down.   

The owner of the land, Jagath Wickremasinghe said the herd frequenting the Kiraloya reservation, roam the villages at night and destroy crops . Wickremasinghe said he had erected an electric fence spending  more than Rs. 300,000 to protect his coconut plantation but the marauding herd had hurled massive logs onto the fence and destroyed it.”   

Meanwhile, Puttalam District Asst. Director of Wildlife, Eranda Gamage said several teams had been deployed to drive away the marauding herd.