25 acres of Devon Ella reserve destroyed by arson

COLOMBO (News 1st); About 25 acres at the Devon Ella Reserve was destroyed due to a fire on Friday (04).

Ranjith Alahakoon, Assistant Director of the Nuwara Eliya Disaster Management Unit stated that about 25 acres were destroyed in a fire that broke out in the Devon Ella Reserve in the Hatton Dimbula Pathana area around.

The fire broke out near the Dimbula Pathanawatta area west of the Devon Ella at around 7 pm on the 4th.

Local and foreign tourists have also reported that over the past few days, nearly 100 acres of land in the Devon Ella reserve were set on fire by a group of people, causing extensive environmental damage.

Residents say that due to the dry weather prevailing in the central highlands these days, some people have started setting fires to the reserve for hunting and recreational purposes.