SLAF aerial surveillance to curb deforestation – Defence Secretary

Special unit set up to arrest land grabbers

Raising concern over widespread illegal forest resources degradation, Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said that attention into deforestation is imperative and it is vital to identify such attempts at logging.

“The President has alerted Tri-forces and Police to thwart such attempts and, therefore, it would be monitored using aerial assets of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF)”, he noted.

The Defence Secretary was addressing District Secretaries/Government Agents at the Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management State Ministry in Narahenpita last week.

“We must safeguard our resources for future generations”, he stressed.

He asked District Secretaries/Government Agents to be vigilant and stand against the deterioration of the environment leading to depletion of forest resources.

Referring to the recent upsurge in land grabbing incidents, the Defence Secretary said a special unit has been set up to take deterrent action against persons involved in land grabbing.

He commended District Secretaries in areas, where the transmission level was low, for their efforts to limit the further spread of the virus.

Gunaratne said that District Secretaries/Government Agents of Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha districts have also taken prompt action after consulting the state authorities and National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Highlighting the complete recovery of the Covid-19 cluster within the Navy, the Defence Secretary outlined that the spread of the virus within the Bogambara Prison has also been brought under control so far as the inmates were not exposed to the outside community.