Burnt Elephant, Absent State

20 December 2025 01:42 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 3 Bookmark

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An elephant has died from burns after terrified villagers tried to chase it away with firebrands. This was not cruelty; it was desperation, the outcome of a human–elephant conflict the State has failed to resolve for decades.

Deaths now occur with grim regularity. The burden is borne not by officials in air-conditioned offices, but by the rural poor living on forest fringes, protecting children, elderly parents and fragile homes. Villagers act defensively.

As a Buddhist-majority nation, our chronicles praise the squirrel that tried to empty the sea, wetting its tail again and again to save its young. Villagers act defensively to protect their lives and property. Yet today, when danger enters an urban mansion, it is swiftly destroyed without reflection. Compassion appears selective.

This tragedy is not karma or fate. It is governance failure. Until the State acts decisively, every burnt elephant and broken family will indict those in power.

Upali Weerasinghe

Comments - 3

Umar Perera Saturday, 20 December 2025 02:51 PM

Rubbish. This was an injured elephant. How does applying lit torches directly onto the elephant constitute "chasing away"? Don't excuse the HORRIBLE actions of those who did this. How is such abominable cruelty possible in Sri Lanka?

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RP Monday, 22 December 2025 11:52 PM

Agree with you 100%. It's open season on our Helpless Elephants and the villagers. People were given land adjoining the Forests without any feasible studies. One side, it's the Speed Disobeying Train Drivers and the other side the farmers, blocking Elephant corridors, etc.etc. Our Government has failed miserably to come with any concrete plan for the Human - Elephant conflict!

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Lucien Pereira Saturday, 27 December 2025 10:42 AM

Villagers who are affected by the HEC do such harsh acts as they have few options left. I own a large cultivated property off Anamaduwa and have lost young coconut plants , fencing and so much more over the years in addition to damage by giant squirrels and monkeys. It is easy to .make statements when you are not affected. It is time the authorities stepped in resolved the HEC issue

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