A progress review meeting on the restoration of elephant fences damaged by the Cyclone Ditwah has been held yesterday (10) under the patronage of Minister of Environment Dr. Dammika Patabendi.
A large number of elephant fences were damaged due to the adverse weather conditions, with complete and partial damage reported particularly in the Dimbulagala Forest Monastery in the Polonnaruwa District.
In addition, elephant fences in all seven Divisional Secretariat divisions of the Polonnaruwa District have been affected.
Special attention was drawn during the meeting to carrying out maintenance and restoration work through a coordinated mechanism as a labour-based operation.
Accordingly, the Minister of Environment instructed relevant officials to complete this collective restoration process within one week.
Under the guidance of the Ministry of Environment and the supervision of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the restoration work will be carried out with the participation of elephant fence maintenance assistants and Civil Defence Force personnel.
Furthermore, during the progress review meeting, Divisional Secretariats, village-level committees, and farmer organisations agreed to extend their support for the maintenance of the elephant fences.
Accordingly, elephant fence restoration and maintenance activities are expected to be carried out swiftly as a labour-based operation within this week.
