The Anuradhapura district wildlife compensation committee said that 37 persons have been killed by wild elephants in 2022, with most of the deaths reported from Kebithigollewa, Mahawilachchiya, Rambewa and Nuwaragampalatha (Central) Divisional Secretariat divisions.
Committee Chairman Anuradhapura Additional District Secretary Sandhya N.G. Abeysekara told the Daily News that more than 70 wild elephants were killed resulting from the human–elephant conflict (HEC) in 2022. She disclosed that in September 2022 alone, 12 persons were killed as a result of wild elephant attacks.
According to the compensation committee information, Rs. 2,395,000 has been granted as compensation to the families of HEC victims, in 2022. In addition, compensation worth Rs. 418,389 has been approved for those who were severely injured by elephant attacks during the last four years c. Also Rs. 3,019,073 has been paid for 50 incidents of crop and property destruction caused by wild elephants during the 2019–2022 period.
It is reported that in some cases, the payment of compensation to the victimized families is getting delayed since the relevant reports at the Divisional Secretariat level have not being received in time by the committee. As an example, the families of two persons who died due to elephant attacks in the Kebithigollewa DS division on September 8 and 28, 2022, respectively, have not received compensation due to the delay by Divisional Secretariat offices in forwarding relevant assessment reports so far.
In terms of the amended rules and regulations in the Wildlife Conservation Act, instead of Rs. 500,000 as compensation, Rs. 1 million is paid per human death caused by the wild elephants after August 2, 2021.
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