The reporting below is a BIG LIE!
They were electrocuted by Electric Fence hit by Lighting.
It is the Electric Fence that killed them.
They have built electric fences to protect Hashish Growing farmers.
Please do not believe Sri-Lankan Media and politicians and Ganja Growers.
The figure 7000 is also a BOGUS Figure.
They are endangered, may be less than 2000.
Under previous government there was big Baby Elephant Trade, Buddhist Monks and Local mafia included.
There is even fisticuffs and cheating (in counting votes in debates) in our parliament.
We send politicians (mafia agents) without fifth standard education and they cannot even count the 10 fingers.
Reporting
Four elephants, including two
calves, were killed by lightning in northern Sri Lanka in one of the
worst wildlife tragedies to hit the country in years, officials said
Sunday.
A female elephant, aged about 25 years, and two of
her calves, aged 10 months and two years, and an eight-year-old female
were found dead Sunday just outside the Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary, an
official said.
"Villagers from neighbouring areas alerted the
authorities and we carried out autopsies," wildlife veterinary surgeon
Chandana Jayasinghe said. "The deaths were caused by lightning."
Local villagers in Mahavilachchiya, 250 kilometres
(156 miles) north of Colombo, had reported heavy rains accompanied by
thunder and lightning in the shrub jungle area on Friday when the
elephants were thought to have been struck.
It was the worst natural disaster involving elephants
since February 2011 when four baby elephants drowned in a major flood
in the north-east of the country.
Elephants are venerated in the mainly Buddhist
country and they are a highly protected species. Elephant deaths must be
investigated and death certificates issued before disposing of the
carcasses.
Despite tough conservation laws and the elephant's
association with Buddhism, nearly 200 jumbos are killed each year by
villagers after accidentally straying onto farmland, while the animals
themselves kill about 50 people each year.
Sri Lanka's
elephant population has reduced to just over 7,000, according to a
census five years ago, down from a population of over 12,000 at the
start of the 20th century.
Cheating in the parliament
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, MP, yesterday said that it was the
responsibility of party leaders to ensure the participation of their
members in parliamentary proceedings.
Speaker Jayasuriya
said that in case members skipped sessions it would be the
responsibility of the respective leaders to take punitive action
against them. The former UNP Deputy leader is on record as having said
that a single day’s parliamentary sittings cost the Sri Lankan taxpayer
Rs. 4.6 mn, and, therefore, MPs should bear in mind their
responsibilities.
The Speaker was responding to a query by
The Island whether he could take disciplinary action against those who
hadn’t been present in parliament on Thursday (May 5) afternoon when a
vote taken at the end of a debate to give approval for a supplementary
estimate of Rs 55 mn for the government revealed only 62 members out of
225 were present.
The parliament was told 33 members voted
for the supplementary estimate and 31 voted against. Both the Joint
Opposition and the JVP strongly objected to the result. Alleging vote
rigging, they demanded a recount. After several recounts, the Secretary
General of Parliament and political party representatives agreed that
there had been 31 votes each for and against the supplementary
estimate.
Had members of the UNP-SLFP coalition been present
on that day, the supplementary estimate could have been passed without
any issue, Speaker Jayasuriya said.
The UNP parliamentary group comprises 106 members plus one SLMC MP.
The
SLFP group backing the UNP comprises 46 members. The rebel SLFP-led
UPFA group comprises 49 members, including former President and
Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Speaker
expressed serious concern over continuing low turnaround at
parliamentary sessions. Parliament meets eight days a month. According
to him, the situation at some Provincial Councils was worse for want of
a system to ensure participation.
Asked whether the
offending members could be dealt under the code of conduct for the
members of parliament, Speaker Jayasuriya said the draft of the
proposed code of conduct had been made available to all members of
parliament. Once the members state their positions, the proposed code of
conduct could be adopted, the Speaker said. In respect of attendance,
the draft proposed: "Every member shall attend every sitting of the
House and meeting of the committee of which he or she is a member, in
accordance with practice of the House, except with reasonable excuse,
or in the case of extended absence, if excused in accordance with the
practice of the House."
Political sources pointed out that the TNA rescued the government by voting for the supplementary estimate.
Most
of the Ministers, State Ministers and Deputy Ministers hadn’t been
present at the time the vote was taken. At the end of the debate Chief
Opposition Whip JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake called for a
division.
Having campaigned against the previous
administration, the UNP obviously didn’t expect JVP leader Dissanayake
to cause an unnecessary crisis by calling for a division. Many an
eyebrow was raised at the JVP backing the Joint Opposition against the
government.
The Yahapalana government conducted various
lessons for members as well as parliamentary staff recently to improve
their participation in the process.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, MP, yesterday said that it was the
responsibility of party leaders to ensure the participation of their
members in parliamentary proceedings.
Speaker Jayasuriya
said that in case members skipped sessions it would be the
responsibility of the respective leaders to take punitive action
against them. The former UNP Deputy leader is on record as having said
that a single day’s parliamentary sittings cost the Sri Lankan taxpayer
Rs. 4.6 mn, and, therefore, MPs should bear in mind their
responsibilities.
The Speaker was responding to a query by
The Island whether he could take disciplinary action against those who
hadn’t been present in parliament on Thursday (May 5) afternoon when a
vote taken at the end of a debate to give approval for a supplementary
estimate of Rs 55 mn for the government revealed only 62 members out of
225 were present.
The parliament was told 33 members voted
for the supplementary estimate and 31 voted against. Both the Joint
Opposition and the JVP strongly objected to the result. Alleging vote
rigging, they demanded a recount. After several recounts, the Secretary
General of Parliament and political party representatives agreed that
there had been 31 votes each for and against the supplementary
estimate.
Had members of the UNP-SLFP coalition been present
on that day, the supplementary estimate could have been passed without
any issue, Speaker Jayasuriya said.
The UNP parliamentary group comprises 106 members plus one SLMC MP.
The
SLFP group backing the UNP comprises 46 members. The rebel SLFP-led
UPFA group comprises 49 members, including former President and
Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Speaker
expressed serious concern over continuing low turnaround at
parliamentary sessions. Parliament meets eight days a month. According
to him, the situation at some Provincial Councils was worse for want of
a system to ensure participation.
Asked whether the
offending members could be dealt under the code of conduct for the
members of parliament, Speaker Jayasuriya said the draft of the
proposed code of conduct had been made available to all members of
parliament. Once the members state their positions, the proposed code of
conduct could be adopted, the Speaker said. In respect of attendance,
the draft proposed: "Every member shall attend every sitting of the
House and meeting of the committee of which he or she is a member, in
accordance with practice of the House, except with reasonable excuse,
or in the case of extended absence, if excused in accordance with the
practice of the House."
Political sources pointed out that the TNA rescued the government by voting for the supplementary estimate.
Most
of the Ministers, State Ministers and Deputy Ministers hadn’t been
present at the time the vote was taken. At the end of the debate Chief
Opposition Whip JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake called for a
division.
Having campaigned against the previous
administration, the UNP obviously didn’t expect JVP leader Dissanayake
to cause an unnecessary crisis by calling for a division. Many an
eyebrow was raised at the JVP backing the Joint Opposition against the
government.
The Yahapalana government conducted various
lessons for members as well as parliamentary staff recently to improve
their participation in the process.
