The Hon. Anton Jayakody - Deputy Minister of Environment
On behalf of the Minister of Environment, the Deputy Minister stated that 551 safari jeeps are registered for Yala, while 30 registered jeeps did not provide tourist services in 2024 and will have their registrations cancelled. He said replacement jeep registrations have not been initiated because vehicle numbers in Yala Block 1 already exceed carrying capacity and cause congestion. He added that the “Re-awakening Yala” programme is implementing an operational plan to improve tourism activities in Yala National Park Block 1.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Environment, I answer as follows:
¶ 02 (a) (i) Yes. (ii) The number of registered safari jeeps is 551. (iii) Thirty registered jeeps did not provide tourist services during 2024. (iv) The registrations of such jeeps that are not providing services will be cancelled. (v) Since the number of vehicles entering Yala Block 1 exceeds its carrying capacity causing heavy congestion, no steps have yet been taken to register replacement jeeps. (vi) Yes. Under the “Re-awakening Yala” programme, actions are being implemented according to the operational plan prepared to improve the quality of tourism activities in Yala National Park, Block 1.
¶ 03 (b) Does not arise.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 20 May 2025 ·No. 1749010823009957 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Anton Jayakody - Deputy Minister of Environment. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 May 2025. No. 1749010823009957. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/25784