Protest in Kilinochchi over wild elephant havoc

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Although officials claim to be conducting large scale development projects, the general public of the country are the people who suffer from the ill effects of these projects. In Kilinochchi, an area that has been the target of several wild elephant attacks, residents staged a protest demanding their voice to be heard. The residents of Kalmadu Nagar and Pudukkadu in Kilinochchi have been distressed by the attacks of the roaming elephants on several unfortunate occasions destroying their crops and wreaking havoc. A resident at the protest noted that everything they had was destroyed and their lives are the ones left. Locals added that two or three elephants invade their homes every day. A woman was critical of the government stating that despite multiple aid from foreign countries, the government turns a blind towards the suffering of the general public. Consequently, the protesters held discussions with the Kilinochchi District Secretary, Sundaram Arumainayagam regarding their issues. The District Secretary said that he already discussed the matter with wildlife officials. He added that a project is proposed to construct an elephant fence from Kalmadu Nagar to Iranamadu and then the issue will be solved.