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| Sunday, 16 May 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Sri Pada : A mountain marred
The mounds of garbage which marred the beauty of the mountain as well as the forest, are only part of the problem. Sri Pada and its surrounding virgin forest suffer from deforesting and logging for timber, fuel and cultivation purposes, gem mining and poaching. by Vimukthi Fernando "With them thrice hallow'd is the sod (T.A. Anderson - The Wanderer in Ceylon) Worshipped by the sun god? Certainly! Any who had had a glimpse of the sublime beauty of sunrise atop the mountain would not doubt. The experience is unique. With mist covering the face and the first rays of the sun shining in your eyes, you watch the dragon rising from his lair. A ball of fire, setting its first rays on a conic peak, 7,360 feet above the sea. The sun god, rising from his slumber worshipping the glory of the peak where rests the imprint of the foot of the Buddha, on blue sapphire, under the great boulder at the peak... so, goes the legend. Landmark
The old faithful. The landmark for early sea-farers - Arab, Greek and Persian, who came to this little isle in the Indian ocean in search of gems, jewels, ivory and spice. Sri Pada, Samanala Kanda, Samanthakuta, Swargarohana or Adam's Peak... whatever you may chose to call it is revered for nearly 2,600 years by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians alike. In ancient times, Sri Pada not only was guiding the sea-farers but a bewitching mystery to many an erudite person from far and near. A 'must visit' destination of many a foreign visitor, the mention of Sri Pada in different names is noted in their writings afterwards. The earliest such record found is by Fa-hien, a Chinese monk who stayed in Sri Lanka for two years, around 399 A.D. Supernatural power Agreeing with the description of the Mahavamsa, on how the footprint came to be at Adam's peak, he notes that "When Buddha came to this country, wishing to transform the wicked nagas, by his supernatural power he planted one foot at the north of the royal city, and the other on top of a mountain, the two being fifteen yojanas apart." Classical Tamil literature mentions Samanalakuta, where the footprints of Buddha rests, in Manimekhalai, an epic poem. Some other known writers who mention the Sri Pada and the traditional worship in their writings include Marco Polo who visited Sri Lanka in 1293, Robert Knox who was captured by Rajasingha II in 1660, John Davy 1821, Sir James Emerson Tennent 1860, William Skeen 1870, Edward Carpenter 1910, C.M. Enriquez 1927 and R.H. Basset 1929. Today, thousands ascend and descend the mountain through the two routes, North and South, each night. The Hatton route in the north, providing a more easy way, with modern amenities and enabling the climb within a day, draws more pilgrims and visitors. Ratnapura though a difficult route still retains its own share of pilgrims mainly from the Southern parts of the island who enjoy several days climb in the traditional way. Sadly, this multitude of pilgrims or visitors though a boon to the surrounding villagers who live on this seasonal income, has become a bane to this glorious mountain. The mountainous amounts of garbage they bring in has been the focus of many a concerned agency for the past few years. Pilgrim season The beginning of the current pilgrim season was encouraging. Many an agency - environmentalists, government ministries and departments, local authorities, the police came forward raising their voice on preventive measures to preserve the sanctity of the mountain and its surroundings. The ban on the sale of polythene bags and an effort to minimise the use of non-bio-degradable polythene to erect temporary boutiques up this sacred mountain, by the Ministry of Buddha Sasana the previous year, was in effect this season as well. Distribution of bio-degradable bags, paper and cloth bags was carried out by concerned parties, including community organisations in the vicinity. Pleas were issued to change the polythene packaging of the food and other essential items for the pilgrims to that of bio-degradable ones. Orders and pleas, had reduced the mountainous volumes of garbage brought down the mountain after pilgrim seasons in the last two years. As another Sri Pada pilgrimage season saw its closure on Vesak Poya, missions on 'cleaning' the mountain of its mountainous debris are under way, led by the Upper Watershed Management Project (UWMP). And the trend, of decreasing amounts of garbage is expected to continue this year as well. However, much needs to be done yet. Catchment area A formation of tropical lowland, sub montane and montane rain forest and natural grassland, the forest surrounding Sri Pada is the catchment area, and the source of four major rivers in Sri Lanka, Mahaweli, Kelani, Kalu and Walawe. And the bio-diversity of the range is vast. Sri Pada range is home to a host of fauna and flora, including 24 endemic species of birds (14 listed as endangered in the IUCN, Red Data List) and other threatened animals such as leopards, elephants, some rare amphibians, insects and fish. If Sri Pada mountain range gets destroyed, it means the destruction of all above. That is why Sri Pada was declared a sanctuary many years ago, on October 10, 1940. An area of 22,380 hectares is protected as the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, protected by the Department of Wildlife with the assistance stationed at 2 posts, Sri Palabaddala and Nallatanniya. All in all, Sri Pada is the heart and soul of Sri Lanka and all efforts need to be deployed in preserving this mountain and its surroundings for its basic survival. |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
Why should Sri Pada be protected from garbage and other forms of
destruction? The answer is easy. It is unique not only for its religious
significance, but also for its forest cover which is of great
environmental value.
