Wilpattu National Park: Protests against the opening of a road through the nature reserve

In recent days, conservationists and local residents have prevented more than 300 people from travelling by bus on the Puttalam-Marichchikadai route, which runs through an area known for its biodiversity. The park had been created in 1938 and had become a battleground during the civil war. Only the Supreme Court has so far prevented the destruction of the sensitive ecosystem.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - Two Sri Lankan MPs attempted to enter Wilpattu National Park through an illegal road built during the administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In recent days, conservationists and local residents prevented more than 300 people, led by Ali Sabri Raheem, a member of the National Muslim Alliance, and K. Kader Masthan, Minister of Rural Economy, from travelling by bus on the Puttalam-Marichchikadai route, which runs through the Kallaru reserve, an area known for its biodiversity. Their reason for introducing a new bus service in the park is the collapse of the Eluwankulama highway.

Wilpattu National Park was designated as such in 1938. Consisting of 13,500 hectares of land, it is located on the north-west coast of Sri Lanka. During the war between the army and the Tamil Tigers, the park turned into a battlefield. After the conflict ended in 2009, some environmental NGOs, including the Environmental Foundation Limited, noticed that two roads had been built inside the park, probably for military purposes: one follows the coast and leads to Kudiramalai Point, while the other, the Puttalam-Marichchikadai, cuts the protected area in two.

Only the Supreme Court has so far prevented the destruction of the sensitive ecosystem. In 2010, the Environmental Foundation Limited filed a lawsuit against the opening of the road to the public, but the process has not yet been completed. The court issued an interim order blocking the development of the road at least until the next hearing on 17 July.

Lawyers Darshini Ranatunga and Upendra Gamage explained to AsiaNews that 'In 2010, the Environmental Foundation Limited and the Department of Wildlife Conservation obtained an injunction order to prohibit the use of the road as an entrance to the park until the case is decided. No construction project can be carried out without prior written approval, either from a private party or the state," the lawyers specified.

According to a Sri Lanka Transport Board official, MP Raheem had asked for a bus to take some passengers from Mannar to Puttalam through the national park, but they were not informed of a specific date or time.

Farmers living in Kudiramalai, a village near Wilpattu, said that 'MPs and their supporters wanted to woo voters from Puttalam and Mannar with the connivance of senior government officials. Two groups of supporters are planning to cross the park by bus and meet at the Eluvankulama transit point'.