Banning of forests for Chena cultivation has made things hard for wild elephants in finding food, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said today. He said elephant and man need coexistence though many project it to be a human-elephant conflict.
“It is clearly evident in Wilpattu. When people were not visiting sanctuary, we hardly saw elephants in that area. But when people start touring the area, we see elephants making their presence,” he said. Minister Rajapaksa said there should be a friendly mechanism to protect humans without harming the elephants.