Colombo, Oct. 20 (Daily Mirror) - Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has alleged that Environment Minister Dr. Dhammika Patabendi supplied firearms to shoot animals approaching chena cultivations, field huts and houses, questioning the Government’s responsibility for the shooting of tusker Kavantissa.
Speaking in Parliament, Namal Rajapaksa accused the Environment Ministry of failing to pay adequate attention to the shooting of Kavantissa for more than a month.
He questioned who had supplied the firearms allegedly used to shoot animals and challenged the Minister to explain the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“Who provided the guns? Your Minister supplied the firearms,” he said.
Namal Rajapaksa alleged that those responsible for the shooting, those who supplied the weapons and those protecting them would eventually be exposed.
He urged the Government to ensure that the injustice suffered by Kavantissa was not repeated and called for the use of technology to monitor elephants and prevent similar incidents.
Referring to the search operation for elephant Agbo, he questioned why funds could not be allocated to establish an effective elephant-monitoring system.
He also called for stronger measures to protect wildlife and prevent the shooting of elephants.
The allegations concerning the supply of firearms and the handling of Kavantissa’s case require clarification from the relevant authorities.