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New Zoo DG appointed after Shermila Rajapaksha’s removal

31 Mar 2022

A new Director General (DG) has been appointed to the Department of National Zoological Gardens, said Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Minister C.B. Rathnayake.  Thereby, Thilak Premakantha will assume duties as the new DG of the National Zoological Gardens Department.  His appointment comes after the removal of Shermila Rajapaksha, who was assigned to the post in October 2021. Rajapaksha had been appointed as the DG of the National Zoological Gardens Department, following the resignation of former DG Ishini Wickremesinghe, who, last year, opposed a gazette released by the state ministry, allowing the registration of the private ownership of elephants.  Former Presidential Secretariat Social Media Head Shermila Rajapaksha was appointed as the National Zoological Gardens Department DG in October 2021. She filled the vacancy left by the much-talked-about resignation of former DG Ishini Wickremesinghe in September 2021. Rajapaksha had served in the role of Head of Social Media at the Presidential Secretariat before submitting her resignation in June 2020.


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