Between
the wild jumbos and wildlife officials:
Irudeniya farmers’ future hangs in the balance
Shirley WIJESINGHE
“We must leave our homes and lands and move out of the area whenever
they order. All of us in Irudeniya are under wildlife regulations,” U.
M. Wimalawathie 50, a widow with five children told a group of
journalists who recently visited Irudeniya, a fertile valley surrounded
by a ring of mountains in Popithigama in the North Western Province.
“We are like some second class citizens. We are obliged to show them
whatever we bring into our houses or take to the market for selling;
this is ridiculous!” she complained.
The uncertain land ownership leaves them insecure. They could not
plan anything.
“Is this how the officials should treat farmers who produce tons of
vegetables for the country?”
U.M. Wimalawathie of Irudeniya, elephants killed her husband 11
years ago; pressed on by the Wildlife officials and their
jumbos. |
.Fertile lands of Irudeniya; any vegetables would thrive there. |
Wooden poles meant for electric fence being wasted just as the
lives of 500 villagers of Irudeniya. Pix by Prasad Purnamal |
But ever since the village was declared as a sanctuary by the
Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1989, the future of 500 farmer
families in the village is hanging in the balance. “It was done all of a
sudden without consulting us, arbitrarily, without an iota of concern
for us who have been living here for more than 30 years, growing food,”
she continued.
Carrots, beetroots, radish, long beans, wing beans, and cabbage are
grown here in abundance. The villagers claimed that round 25 lorry loads
of beetroot were sent to the Dambulla Market every day during the
harvest season.
‘’Not only that but also we are in constant fear of the wild
elephants. We could be killed by the elephants or our houses would be
destroyed at any moment!” Her worries reflect on her face although she
forces a smile.
The roaming giants would destroy everything they have in minutes or
in a few hours. “They killed my husband 11 years ago,” she lamented over
the loss of her husband.
The villagers complained that although, the department had brought
down wooden poles to erect an electric fence to prevent wild elephants
from coming to their village, the poles are still piled up, without the
fence being erected. They pointed to the piles of wooden poles.
According to Wimalawathie, the then Prime Minister late Sirimavo
Bandaranaike’s government had granted permission to cultivate the lands
in 1971. Still they do not have titles to the lands that they cultivate.
The villagers of Irudeniya are living in constant fear of a herd that
roams into the village and vicinity at dusk. Can the Department of
Wildlife Conservation invade the most fertile lands used by villagers
for cultivation and without burdening anybody, is what they have been
questioning since 1989.
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