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Annual Nuwara Eliya forest fires by an organised arsonist group?

06 Feb 2022

By Pamodi Waravita The Nuwara Eliya District Disaster Management Co-ordinating Unit (DDMCU) said yesterday (6) that they suspect that the arson of forest areas around the Nuwara Eliya District is carried out by a group of organised individuals annually. “The Watawala area in the Nuwara Eliya District, the Nuwara Eliya pradeshiya sabha area, the Devon Ella forest reserves, and the Hatton area annually fall victim to arsonists. We believe that it is the same group who organise themselves each year to do this destructive act,” DDMCU Assistant Director for the Nuwara Eliya District Ranga Alahakoon told The Morning yesterday. Forest fires are reported annually from the Nuwara Eliya District, with the most recent reported last Friday (4). Media reports show that 25 acres of the Devon Ella forest reserve were destroyed due to a forest fire. Alahakoon added that they suspect the reasons for these annual acts of arson are to capture wild animals and to sell firewood. He warned that whilst the DDMCU is mostly able to control the fires from spreading to the wider natural forest areas, the environmental impact to the District still remains great. “It is a very, very sensitive environment and the Nuwara Eliya District is both historically and environmentally significant. These kinds of acts of arson affect the natural water resources too, and we have noticed in recent times how some natural water sources are drying up.” He said that a co-ordinated effort from locals in the area is needed to catch the perpetrators so that legal action can be taken against them under the Forest Conservation Ordinance. “We have already done awareness programmes, especially in the plantation areas,” he added. He also said: “There is also the issue of tourists (both local and foreign) throwing out cigarette butts near the train tracks which lead to fires. This problem is much less but awareness is important.”


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