Elephant menace for village off Galneva

Mahaweli systems corr.

Cliche is a feature of bad journalism, it is said, but when it comes to the reporting of stories about country folk living in the human habitats close to the natural habitats of wild creatures in rural Sri Lanka pouring out their troubles to the media over the infiltration of wild elephants or other smaller wild animals into their territories, a local reporter's poor vocabulary is not enough to compile reports again and again on the same monotonous themes sans a cliche-ridden style.

Well, here in Aachirigama in the backwoods of Oththapahuva, off Galneva, in the Mahaweli H zone - peasants are complaining of wild elephants that have become an acute nuisance to them and it is difficult to find out fresh terms in writing the story and it is to be regretted that the authorities may find cliches but it has to be noted that the poor 'Oththapahuvans - who are desperate for 'official help' - ought not to be neglected. Peasants in Oththapahuva say that their paddies in Aachirigama are vulnerable to the wild elephants menace.

According to their explanations, some of these paddies have already been destroyed by the wild elephants recently infiltrated into the area in search of food.

These creatures are so familiar with the usual modus operandi of the peasants adopted to chase them away that they dare neglect even the bangs of fireworks, it is said. It is also said that many a peasant in this area is afraid to go out after dark in the area because they are in fear of their life.

The peasants who are living in constant fear of damage or destruction to their paddies which are now full of plants passing through the blooming phase have to hurry off to their attics on the trees by their paddies before dark and spend the whole night in them without a sleep and with sufferings, running the risk of wild elephants infiltration into the paddies even though they are holding long nightly vigils, tiring out badly.

The Oththapahuva peasants are now awaiting at least 'ali-vedi', especially made fireworks distributed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation for chasing the wild elephants away.