(Lanka-e-News -03.June.2016, 11.30PM) Elephants are not animals to be taken home while claiming they will be brought back after playing with them in the way children treat toys and exchange them , said ,Professor Sumith Pelapitiya , the Director General , Wild Life department expressed during a discussion held at the Presidential secretariat on the 31 st.
The Wild life department Director General made this announcement during the discussions held by the president with the participation of all concerned parties , This discussion was a sequel to the controversy that arose following the verdict delivered by the Colombo magistrate to entrust the 17 Elephants (now in the custody of the Wild life department ) which were held captive illegally without licenses to the custody of the owners prior to their taking part in the Perahera , and the restraining order delivered by the Colombo High court against that verdict.
During the discussions held regarding the elephants in the custody of wild life department being released for the Perahera , and while it was being said, the culture of peraheras must be continued , Prof. Pilapitiya made this comment while emphasizing Elephants are not animals that can be reared in homes as pets , rather they are assets of the world.
The Elephants in the custody of the Wild life department cannot be permitted to be kept in one place for a month and in another the next month , if that is going to be the case he is prepared to relinquish his duties as the Director General of the Wild life Department, Prof. Pilapitiya asserted.
It is worthy of special mention at this juncture , Professor Pilapitiya is one among the top ten in the world on the subject of Wild life , and before he undertook the present duties , he was the manager in charge of the highly acclaimed wild life project of the world bank drawing a massive salary. (No wonder he loathes the illegal activities of Elephant rogues irrespective of their so called status !)
It was a well and widely known fact that the corrupt brutal Rajapakses muddled up the Wild life department and made it an utter mess. Hence , after the present government of good governance was installed, Prime Minister (P.M.)Ranil Wickremesinghe twice invited Prof. Pilapitiya to serve the country and clear the mess up created by the Rajapakses (not as beasts in the jungles but due to their bestiality despite being humans ) . Finally , the professor accepted the post which offered a low salary after sacrificing his high salary he was receiving ,for the sake of the country.
After the professor’s explanations, nobody uttered a word regarding releasing the wild life animals – the Elephants for Peraheras for a month.
The Minister of wild life Gamini Jayawickrema Perera who participated in the discussions bitterly objected to this ‘mad’ proposal made by the court.
By the way ,it is to be noted that Colombo chief magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya who decided that the Wild life department Elephants shall be handed over for Peraheras , and Prof. Sumith Plapitiya the Director General of Wild Life department are not related in any way.
While there are over hundred Elephants with their owners that are used for Peraheras, the contention that without the 17 Elephants held captive sans licenses the Perahera cannot be conducted is untenable and is an absolute lie.
In any case , the president finally decided that short term and long term plans be put in place to resolve this issue. As a short term plan , the tuskers that are now in the custody of Wild life department based on the verdict of the court shall remain in the department’s custody . He also drew his attention to the long term plan pertaining to the use of Elephants for Elephant Peraheras .
Minister of Wild lIfe Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, Ministry secretary S.P.B. Meegasmulla, Kandy Dalada Maligawa Diyawadana Nilame Neelanga Dela, and Sathara Maha Devale Basnayake Nilames participated in the discussions.
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by (2016-06-03 20:53:09)
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why nothing on your web site about the reasons for the officers resignation ?
-- by Good Night on 2016-06-07
