Fire destroys 2000 palmyrah palms

Text and pic by Dinasena Ratugamage

About 2,000 palms in a forest in Palei, Killinochchi, were destroyed on Sunday, when a fire, set up by labourers at a nearby farm, spread, the Palmyrah Development Board (PDB) said.

The labourers were burning garbage at the private farm.

The Palmyrah Development Board said apart from the destruction of 2000 adult tress, thousands of saplings and seeds had been destroyed.

Commenting on the fire, environmentalist Sajeewa Chamikara said that forest fires, caused by private farm workers, were becoming a huge problem.

Many such fires were caused each year, across the country during the dry season, he said.