Thirty fences to protect people against crocs

by Mohammed NAALIR

Thirty fences to protect people against crocodiles will be set up along the banks of the Nilwala Ganga, Matara District Disaster Management Centre (MDDMC) sources said.

The Disaster Management Centre had set up protective fences at 30 locations vulnerable to crocodile attacks in 2008, after 11 persons were killed by crocodiles in the Matara district in 2007, according to MDDMC sources.

These protective fences were set up in densely populated areas, the sources said.

After the protective fences were set up not a single untoward incident was reported at these locations, the sources said. People at unsafe locations fell victim to crocodile attacks, the sources said.

There is no truth that people have been killed at locations where protective fences had been set up. The banks of Nilwala Ganga are very broad.

People must be wary of possible crocodile movements in the river. It is not possible to set up protective fences all over along the banks of Nilwala Ganga, the sources said.

Any maintenance work on the fences should be done by people who live close to the location, the sources said.