Wilpattu back to its former splendour

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Following a tour in Wilpattu

Life is returning to the ‘land of villus’. Sri Lanka’s largest wildlife sanctuary, the Wilpattu National Park is back in the limelight. `Located in the Northwest coast’s lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka, 185 kilometres north of Colombo, the Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary, the land of villus (lakes), is getting a facelift following a decade of terrorist activities.

The terrorists used the Wilpattu National Park to attack the civilians living in the villages bordering the park. After being closed for decades, the park was reopened last February. Earlier it remained closed from December 1988 to March 16, 2003 due to security concerns.

The Wilpattu National Park consists of a complex of lakes called ‘Villus’ surrounded by grassy plains, within the scrub jungle. Villus range from small ponds to large tanks in the Wilpattu, spreading across 131,667 hectares of land that stretches from the Northwestern coast to the North Central Province. Declared as a National Park in February 25, 1938, Wilpattu is one of the oldest wildlife reserves of Sri Lanka. It is situated 152 metres above sea level.

This is one of the rare locations where one can enjoy the unspoilt beauty of nature. The cessation of hostilities has now created a conducive environment for the Government to re-start the development and beautification programs of the park to bring this beautiful piece of nature back to its former glory. Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa visited the Park recently along with several senior officials of the Economic Development Ministry and the Wildlife Department. They assessed the priority areas necessary to protect the fauna and flora while re-establishing facilities for the tourists. The total cost of the entire development program is estimated at Rs. 100,000,000.

“During the tour Minister Rajapaksa instructed us to complete the reconstruction work on improving the facilities within three months. Accordingly the plan was implemented”, Park Warden Dissanayake Weerasinghe told the media last week.

Repairing the roads

The undergrowth now dominant with Keppetiya plants

“I told the Minister that the safety of the park should be ensured to develop tourism. He extended his fullest cooperation,” Weerasinghe said adding that repairing and re-establishing the road network is vital. Under the instructions of Minister Rajapaksa the road renovations started recently are in progress at present.

“At certain locations in the park we need to reduce the forest under growth and the Civil Defence Force is attending to the job under our guidance. Around 150 personnel of the Civil Defence Force are engaged in this task. Within the past few weeks they have completed 14 kilometres,” he said. The undergrowth is removed from either side of the road for twenty kilometres help wildlife enthusiasts see the animals. We don’t remove the undergrowth in other parts of the forest. After the first 20 kilometres the road divides and leads to different areas”, he said. The total length of the roads in need of repairs is 275 kilometres. The plan is to finish the work in three months. “We need new access roads as well for around 60 - 70 kilometres. We will start building these roads with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Army.

The initial plan is to renovate ten tanks in the park under the present development project, Weerasinghe said. This will be done by the Engineers Corp of the Sri Lanka Army. “We will not start constructing new access roads soon as the Army has to complete reconstructing ten tanks located in the eastern side of the park,” the Warden said as the western side of the park has a sufficient number of ‘villus’ the animals do not encounter problems of water scarcity. The Engineers Corps of the Army has already started reconstructing three tanks, namely Persibendi wewa, Palulandagaha wewa and Maha wewa. Maradanmadu wewa, Palukolawala, Walaswala, Manikkapola uttu wewa, Moragolla wewa, Thelbipuwewa, Ikirigollewa wewa are the other tanks that need renovation. The reconstruction work is done by the Army with the technical collaboration of the Irrigation Department.

Four circuit bungalows are under construction, namely Kokmotai, Manawila, Panikkawila and Thalawila. The Sri Lanka Navy is reconstructing Kokmotai and Manawila circuit bungalows. Manikkapola Uttu and Maradanmadu circuit bungalows were constructed before 1985 and today they are in ruins due to terrorist activities during the past few years.

The construction of Kalavillu circuit bungalow by a private company will resume Park Warden Weerasinghe said.

The Kokmotai circuit bungalow is renovated by the Wildlife Department while the construction of Manawila, Thalawila, Panikkawila, Kalawillu, Manikkawila Uttu and Kumbukwila circuit bungalows is sponsored by several private sector companies. As Weerasinghe explained, on an average, the reconstruction of each circuit bungalow costs Rs. 7 million.Ensuring constant water supply is the main problem. As a solution, the Water Supply and Drainage Board has started digging tube wells and the engineers are awaiting the water quality test results of the tube well in Kumbuk Wila. Kumbuk Wila is a place where visitors can rest during their tour.

There are two camp sites in Kokmotai and Marawila. The Kokmotai camp site has water and sanitary facilities while the Marawila Campsite lacks only sanitary facilities. These locations do not have a camping deck and the wildlife authorities do not have any plans for such a project.

Sightseeing

Lionel Sirimalwatta

Gamini Jayathilake

Dissanayake Weerasinghe

At present visitors are allowed only during the day time from 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. “We have sought approval for visitors to stay in the park during the night either in the circuit bungalows or in the camp sites, when the renovations are completed,” Weerasinghe said.

Wilpattu is among the oldest and most important protected areas in Sri Lanka. Visitors can tour 25 percent of the park as 75 percent is covered with dense forest or scrub. The best time to visit Wilpattu is during the months of February and October.

Though situated in the dry zone, the climate in the Wilpattu National Park is very deferred. Upon entering the densely wooded park, a feeling of going to a forest with abundant water is what enters the mind. The annual temperature in the park is around 27.2 degrees Celsius and annual rainfall is 1,000 mm. The period between September to December is known as the rainy season with the north eastern monsoon falling heavily. Inter-monsoon rains come to Wilpattu between March and April. The period of drought extends from May to early September.

The safari jeeps are back in line near the junction where the road turns to the park. Jeep owners are back in a much more organised manner. The Safari Jeep Owners Association ensures a reliable service while taking the responsibility of protecting the sanctuary to the best of their ability.

“We are ready to assist the development of the park even at risk to our lives,” said Lionel Sirimalwatta, Secretary of the Association. For these people the park is superior. They have been with it in good times as well as in bad times. Since 1983 the jeep owners started working as a group and it was only in 2002 they initiated the association and today it consists of 35 members and 15 jeeps, Sirimalwatta said.

“We truly feel the freedom and the economic development that came as a result of totally defeating terrorism in the country,” said Gamini Jayathilake, President of the Safari Jeep Owners Association. “We faced many difficulties during the past three decades due to terrorism and today we are free to lead our lives and start our livelihoods free from terror,” Jayathilake said. “Minister Basil Rajapaksa visited Wilpattu, spoke to us and listened to our grievances and today plans are afoot to bring solutions to those,” he said with great contentment.

Wilpattu was not just another national park or an environment resource. It was the heart and soul of the fauna and flora as well as the nature-loving villagers. For a majority of them it is a sacred part of their lives! Protecting Wilpattu will be even more important for the future.