Mihintale Raja Maha Viharaya Chief Incumbent Ven. Walawahanguna Wawe Dhammaratana Thera urged the Government to stop alleged deforestation activities in Mihintale, The Morning learnt.
Speaking to The Morning, Dhammaratana Thera alleged that representatives of the Government in Mihintale are responsible for these deforestation activities.
“Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Mihintale which negatively affects natural ecosystems, the biodiversity, and the great history of the Mihintale area.”
According to Dhammaratana Thera, the Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary is in a rather neglected state today. There are no proper borders demarcating the sanctuary and no measures have been taken to protect its biodiversity, he claimed.
“I personally sent letters to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa requesting to look into these matters. But I know that he cannot do everything. Why are government officers not doing anything?” he queried. “The protection granted to these areas today is not enough. There is not even a single boundary for this area. Nobody has paid any attention to this for years. Encroachment on reservations belonging to the Mahakanadarawa Tank Reserve has already started, by law-enforcement authorities in Mihintale including the Divisional Secretariat, to plant aloe vera.”
However, Mihintale Divisional Secretary Sirimewan Dharmasena denied the allegations regarding tree cutting at the Mahakanadarawa Tank Reserve and the Mihintale area.
“If there is (encroachment), I would have known, but I have not got any information regarding this issue. But I will try to contact the officers and investigate,” he said.
According to Dharmasena, the Divisional Secretariat is in the process of identifying forest reserves.
“We are identifying areas for forest reserves with the help of the Forest Conservation Department. However, we had some land issues where people have deforested some places, and we took legal action against it.”
Mihintale Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Lal Seneviratne also denied the claims, saying that, to his knowledge, no such incident had been reported.
Stop Mihintale deforestation: Chief Incumbent
19 Feb 2021
Stop Mihintale deforestation: Chief Incumbent
19 Feb 2021
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