Rifles, camouflage to Forest Rangers: Thewarapperuma

The Wildlife Resources Conservation Ministry would provide semi-automatic rifles (Also known as self-loading rifles or SLRs) and a special camouflage uniform to forest rangers, Deputy Minister Palitha Thewarapperuma said.

He said that the Ministry’s attention had been focused on the safety of the rangers and the issues faced by them when carrying out their duties.

He also said that the Ministry was to recruit about 6,000 more officers that would be deployed mainly to address the human-elephant conflict and to minimise illegal activities within the national conservation areas.

He said that accordingly Rs. 500 million had been allocated to purchase cabs for the Wildlife Resources Conservation Ministry. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)