Polluters at Sri Pada to be punished
 

by Florence Wickramage

Provisions of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance will be strictly enforced within the Peak Wilderness Protected Area with the Sri Pada season beginning today, Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) Director General Dayananda Kariyawasam told the Daily News yesterday.

Lighting of fires and cutting trees for fuelwood to cook food has been totally banned within the protected area. The Peak Wilderness has one of the world's rarest ecosystems and is the catchment area for several rivers and waterways and home to a variety of endemic flora and fauna peculiar to the area.

Plastic bottles, sili sili bags, loud music which disturb animals and consuming liquor are also banned. During the past years, the DWLC had to shoulder a massive responsibility to rid the Peak Wilderness area of solid waste haphazardly thrown by pilgrims which block waterways and pose health hazards to wild animals.

The DWLC was assisted by local volunteer environmental groups. Large bins have been provided along the Sri Pada route which pilgrims could use to dispose their waste.

Kariyawasam requested pilgrims to cooperate to protect the Peak Wilderness area during the season and to refrain from action polluting the environment. DWLC officials with police help will enforce law against those indulging in destructive actions during the season.