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| Thursday, 21 October 2004 |
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by Florence Wickramage The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) has introduced an identity card scheme for the Aadivasi community of Dambana to enable them to enter the Maduru Oya National Park to engage in their traditional activities. Environment and Natural Resources Minister A.H.M.Fowzie visited Dambana recently to hand over 50 identity cards to the members of the community as recommended by the Aadivasi Chieftain Uruwarige Vanniyala Aththo. Around 350 families of this community live within the Maduru Oya National Park since 1975. Since Dambana is located within the Maduru Oya National Park which comes within the purview of the DWLC, a series of disputes had erupted between Wildlife Officials overseeing the park and the Aadivasi community in the recent past. To avoid further confrontations between the two parties, Minister Fowzie advised the DWLC to devise an identity card system which would enable community members to enter into the park to collect bee-honey and to perform their traditional rituals. Hunting animals however has been prohibited. The Minister has been informed that under the guise of the Aadivasi community, unscrupulous businessmen and their stooges had entered the park to hunt for animals and fell timber. With the introduction of the identity card system, Wildlife officials would be able to identify the community members from imposters. Addressing the community at a simple ceremony held to hand over identity cards, Minister Fowzie said that it was his desire to protect the rights of the Aadivasi community in their traditional abode - Dambana in the Maduru Oya National Park. The Minister has introduced an insurance cover of Rs. 5000 for a member of the community killed by a wild elephant. The insurance cover has been further extended to Rs.1 lakh. Vanniyala Aththo in reply said that the community has confidence in Minister Fowzie for taking action to ensure their rights which several others before him had promised to do for so long. He further added that due to the Mahaveli Accelerated Programme, several of their villages had been destroyed which also impacted negatively on their culture and traditions. He requested the Minister's support to assist them in protecting their environment, culture and traditions. Director General DWLC Dayananda Kariyawasam said that roadways would be constructed over an extent of 25-30 acres in the Dambana village and the DWLC has allocated Rs. 1 million to provide water for drinking and agriculture purposes of the community. Uva Chief Minister Gamini Vijithamuni Soysa and Enviroment and Natural Resources Ministry Secretary D.Dissanayake was also present. |
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