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Sri Lanka
10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

Sitting of Thursday, 10 April 2025

10th Parliament· 16 debates· 162 speeches· 51 speakers

Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1747999742032122 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard

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Order of business

Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.

  9. 9 Oral question Oral Question 572/2025: Elephant Management Reserves in Hambantota District 6 speeches
    • The Hon. Deputy Speaker procedural
      Full speech →
    • The Hon. Anton Jayakody - Deputy Minister of Environment JJB

      AI summary Accepted the establishment of the Elephant Management Reserve on 9 April 2021 and noted that both authorized and unauthorized constructions and cultivations already existed within it at the time. He stated that a comprehensive survey has not yet been completed, but instructions have been issued for a coordinated survey involving the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the District Secretary and relevant agencies. He said legal action will be taken against illegal constructions made after the reserve declaration, while longer-term action will involve discussions with landholding institutions and possible legal proceedings. He also provided Hambantota District figures for 2015 to 28 February 2025, recording 142 elephant deaths and 65 human deaths due to elephant attacks.

      Environment Full speech →
    • The Hon. Athula Welandagoda JJB

      AI summary Athula Welandagoda raised concerns about the worsening human-elephant conflict across five Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Tissamaharama electorate of Hambantota. He asked what concrete interventions, including electric fencing, would be implemented to protect people, property, and wildlife through sustainable measures involving technology and community participation.

      InfrastructureAgricultureEnvironment Full speech →
    • The Hon. Anton Jayakody JJB

      AI summary About 1,665 km of electric fencing has been built, including 165 km recently, with 85 km remaining and 10 km ready to begin. Hon. Anton Jayakody said the remaining work in Hambantota would be completed quickly with support from civil and farmers’ organizations, CEB concrete poles, and Budget funds. He emphasized that maintenance is essential and said around 3,531 multipurpose workers would be regularized after the elections and deployed through the Department of Wildlife Conservation to maintain and protect the fences.

      InfrastructureAgriculture Full speech →
    • The Hon. Athula Welandagoda JJB

      AI summary Asked whether, beyond Government measures, there is a defined long-term plan to involve local farmers and residents in maintaining fences. The question sought clarification on community participation in sustaining such infrastructure.

      Agriculture Full speech →
    • The Hon. Anton Jayakody JJB

      AI summary Hon. Anton Jayakody said human-elephant conflict cannot be eliminated but is being minimized through multisectoral action involving Wildlife officials, District and Divisional Secretariats, village officers, farmer organizations, local committees, multipurpose workers, and the Civil Security Department. He said fencing alone is insufficient, and that the Government is addressing habitat issues by removing invasive plants such as Indian myrrh and cactus and improving food and water availability for elephants to reduce ranging and crop-raiding. He identified immediate priorities as completing and maintaining fences, strengthening night patrols, augmenting staff, regularizing multipurpose workers, recruiting more officers, and reallocating underused government vehicles for patrol operations.

      EnvironmentAgriculture Full speech →