The Hon. Sunil Biyanwila
Hon. Sunil Biyanwila supported the motion, noting that several districts, including Matale, have been badly affected by the wildlife-related hazard, with severe impacts on perennial crops such as coconut. He said past ad hoc responses were insufficient and called for a coordinated plan involving the Wildlife Department and other stakeholders, while identifying shortages of vehicles, staff, and night-time response capacity as obstacles. He stated that district-level planning has begun under the Minister’s leadership and that efforts are under way to improve rapid interventions, strengthen fences, and reduce harm to farmers and the public within the year.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, I believe the motion by Hon. Rohini Kumari Wijerathna is timely. Many districts are severely affected.
¶ 02 Matale is a district of perennial crops, but production has suffered greatly due to this hazard, especially coconut. This long-standing issue worsened because ad hoc answers were sought rather than a stable plan. The Wildlife Department alone cannot suppress or reduce it; we must intervene as a team to end it swiftly. Our Hon. Minister convened all stakeholders in the district to commence a plan. But it takes time, and there are issues: vehicles, and human resources. Night-time response capacity is weak. We are working to reduce this crisis rapidly.
¶ 03 Significant losses to lives have occurred across districts. Despite our best efforts with available staff, we were often unable to act instantly at night. Hence, we are organizing for quicker interventions, adopting improved methods, strengthening fences, and minimizing harm to farmers and the public within this year.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 ·No. 23608 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sunil Biyanwila. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 May 2026. No. 23608. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/29309