Man feels the pinch for ‘kokum’ bark offence

S. Duraisamy, Maskeliya group correspondent

MASKELIYA: A 22-year-old man in possession of 181 kgs of barks of kokum trees from the Sri Pada range was fined Rs. 7,500 by Hatton District Judge Pradeep Wijeyatilake.

Marimuthu Wijeyakumar of Maskeliya was produced before the judge by Nallathanniya Police OIC, SI B. K. Hettiarachchi.

A spokesman for the Environmental Department said kokum trees are found only at the Sri Pada mountain.

Kokum trees are not found anywhere else in the world. It is a valuable tree used for ayurvedic purposes. The juice of the tree is collected from the bark and used for medicine which is very costly, he said.

Cutting or removing the kokum tree is a punishable offence.