{"id":52687,"date":"2020-11-14T11:14:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T11:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=52687"},"modified":"2020-11-14T11:14:40","modified_gmt":"2020-11-14T11:14:40","slug":"over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"innerheader\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 28px; color: #008080;\">Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-52688 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-547x400.jpg\" alt=\"Radalla and Kumbukkan\" width=\"547\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Source:<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 20px;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/news-features\/Over-200-acres-of-forest-in-Ampara-destroyed-Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-Pottuvil-an\/131-199570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dailymirror<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>Evidence points to an officer of the Security and Law Division of the Forest Department being complicit in the destruction of the Radalla forest reserve<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-52689 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Prageeth-Sampath-Karunathilaka.jpg\" alt=\"Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka\" width=\"250\" height=\"85\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">While the country focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of large-scale deforestation are emerging from Pottuvil in the Ampara district. Deforestation has been continuing in the area since 2000 and the Department of Forest Conservation has been unable to stop it due to interference from politicians and officials. Furthermore, all Governments have turned a blind eye to the issue for political gains. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Local residents have continued to clear forests for cultivation and settle on protected lands. The Radalla forest reserve, brought under the Kumbukkan forest reserve by gazette in 2009, is at risk. The Kumbukkan and Radalla forest reserves had been cleared for chena cultivation, and Local Government officials had issued land ownership permits to those who had settled on these lands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">On October 26, 2017 Forest Department officers arrested 17 persons who had attempted to cultivate land in the Radalla and Kumbukkan reserves. They were produced before the Pottuvil Magistrate on November 10, 2017. Despite objections from the Forest Department the court issued an order allowing cultivation to continue until the case was concluded. The order blocked the Forest Department, Agriculture Department, Wildlife Department and the police from taking action against persons cultivating on protected land. Furthermore the order warned legal action against any officer who interrupted cultivation activities. The Forest Department appealed against the order and the Magistrate was interdicted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation. Land ownership was claimed by obtaining permits and settlements began to grow. Cultivation within the Radalla reserve of the South Eastern ecological zone bordering Pottuvil and Lahugala in the Ampara district thereby increased and some 62 acres were cleared for settlements. According to Forest Department sources by 2017 some 200 acres of the Radalla forest reserve had been destroyed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-52690 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-52691 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Evidence points to an officer of the Security and Law Division of the Forest Department being complicit in the destruction of the Radalla forest reserve. He had reportedly written to the District Forest Officer of Ampara seeking permission to cultivate land in the reserve. Furthermore, a fraudulently registered farmers\u2019 association had obtained permission to cultivate lands in the Irakalathemiku and Palliyadwattei villages. A few years ago these lands had belonged to the Kumbukkan forest reserve, but they have now been cleared for cultivation.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">No settlements had existed in the Kumbukkan forest reserve before. But cultivators are trying to claim human settlements have existed during the past 30 years. Furthermore, no legal action is being taken against them. The Forest Conservation Ordinance says illegal trespassing in a forest is an offence liable to a fine before the courts. But to date this law has not been applied.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The Kumbukkan forest reserve borders the Kitulana and Lahugala national parks. On April 8, 1927 the Forest Act of 1907 named 37635 hectares as a nature reserve. In 2009 a total 38274 hectares was declared as belonging to the reserve. This included the Radalla reserve as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-52692 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"288\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">In addition to deforestation in Radalla, a 20-foot road has also been constructed. Although there are boundary poles to mark the forest reserve area, these have reportedly been removed to make way for more environmental destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\"><strong>Only a handful of Forest Officers are there to protect over 1000 hectares of forest land and just 22 officers are assigned to protect the Pottuvil and Lahugala areas. Lahugala Range Forest Officer Kapila Ariyarathna said it was difficult to deploy each of these officers on field visits<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The Lahugala Forest Department office confirmed people were entering the Radalla reserve at night and felling large trees with saws; 7-8 km inside the forest border. Due to the prevailing dry climate, tree felling and burning have increased. These activities happen mostly after 7pm and continue till dawn; by which time almost two acres of forest are destroyed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-52693 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Permits have been given for protected lands in the Pansalgoda Grama Niladhari (GN) Division of the Lahugala Divisional Secretariat where the Darampalawa forest reserve is located. After cultivating forest lands, requests are made through the Pottuvil Divisional Secretary to the Survey Department for land mapping. However, according to Circular 5\/2001, the Department of Lands is responsible for all lands. If lands are to be used for a development activity approval is first needed from the Forest Conservation Department before they are released. But the Pottuvil Divisional Secretary has made no such request.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">The Forest Conservation Department charges that the Divisional Secretary has distributed lands and permits on his own will. Strangely, he has also reportedly issued land permits in Lahugala, despite it being separate from Pottuvil. Forest Officers charge that these actions taken by officials on behalf of the people have prevented the department from protecting forest land.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-52694 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-5-547x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"547\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Trees that are felled and burnt in the Radalla forest are transported openly<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Only a handful of Forest Officers are there to protect over 1000 hectares of forest land and just 22 officers are assigned to protect the Pottuvil and Lahugala areas. Lahugala Range Forest Officer Kapila Ariyarathna said it was difficult to deploy each of these officers on field visits. As there is a high density of elephants in the reserve, officers cannot be sent out on their own as it is unsafe. There have also been cases where tree fellers have attacked forest officers. So their safety should be considered as well, Ariyarathna said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52695 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan-6.jpg\" alt=\"Radalla and Kumbukkan 6\" width=\"250\" height=\"401\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently said land permits would be given to those without permits, the Pottuvil GN had informed area residents he would provide them with permits. Ariyarathna charged that the GN had also asked people to build houses and settle in them. However he added that compared to the deforestation that took place in 2001, the current situation is relatively under control. The support of the Army and the Special Task Force was well received, Ariyarathna added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Trees that are felled and burnt in the Radalla forest are transported openly. A road has been built through the reserve and about 10-feet of forest on either side has been cleared. The road goes as far as Akkaraipattu through Addalachchanai, Thindur. Akkaraipattu residents have moved to Pottuvil and settled there. Some 1500 families have obtained permits and 3000 more families have occupied lands. Houses and agricultural wells have also been built inside the forest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">Archaeologically valuable monoliths, stone inscriptions, moon-stones and palace ruins are found inside the Kumbukkan and Radalla reserves. Many of these ruins have not yet been discovered by the Archaeology Department. Ven. Udalamatte Rathanapriya Thera of the Muhudu Maha Viharaya said some groups, led by a minister from the Colombo district, were treasure hunting on the pretext of tree cutting. The Thera said that he had reported the matter to Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne. The Thera had information that the minister was preparing to continue with excavating activities in search of treasure and had also transferred the Lahugala Range Forest Officer who opposed his attempts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000000;\">In addition to forest destruction, the Pottuvil lagoon is also vulnerable to environmental harm. For example houses have been built less than 40m from the lagoon, although legally they must be built 200m away from the water. The Coast Conservation Department has reportedly marked new boundaries by indicating a distance of 40m from the sea as the boundary limit. Ven. Udalamatte Rathanapriya Thera urged the authorities to pay attention to these issues, or the forest and lagoon would be lost forever.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka Source:Dailymirror After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation Evidence points to an officer of the Security and Law Division of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":52688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[30670,13619,30669,30668,30671,8604],"class_list":{"0":"post-52687","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-agriculture-department","9":"tag-covid-19","10":"tag-forest-department","11":"tag-radalla-forest","12":"tag-ven-udalamatte-rathanapriya-thera","13":"tag-wildlife-department","14":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eLanka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-14T11:14:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-14T11:14:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"439\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\"},\"headline\":\"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-14T11:14:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-14T11:14:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/\"},\"wordCount\":1293,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Agriculture Department\",\"Covid 19\",\"Forest Department\",\"Radalla forest\",\"Ven. Udalamatte Rathanapriya Thera\",\"Wildlife Department\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/\",\"name\":\"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-14T11:14:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-14T11:14:40+00:00\",\"description\":\"After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":439,\"caption\":\"Radalla and Kumbukkan\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"description\":\"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"width\":192,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"eLanka\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\",\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eLanka admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka","description":"After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka","og_description":"After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation","og_url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/","og_site_name":"eLanka","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","article_published_time":"2020-11-14T11:14:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-11-14T11:14:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":439,"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"eLanka admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eLanka admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/"},"author":{"name":"eLanka admin","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd"},"headline":"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka","datePublished":"2020-11-14T11:14:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-11-14T11:14:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/"},"wordCount":1293,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg","keywords":["Agriculture Department","Covid 19","Forest Department","Radalla forest","Ven. Udalamatte Rathanapriya Thera","Wildlife Department"],"articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/","name":"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg","datePublished":"2020-11-14T11:14:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-11-14T11:14:40+00:00","description":"After the court order, those who were clearing forests discreetly began to use dozers and engage in large-scale deforestation","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Radalla-and-Kumbukkan.jpg","width":600,"height":439,"caption":"Radalla and Kumbukkan"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/over-200-acres-of-forest-in-ampara-destroyed-radalla-and-kumbukkan-forest-reserves-near-pottuvil-and-lahugala-at-high-risk-by-prageeth-sampath-karunathilaka\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Over 200 acres of forest in Ampara destroyed Radalla and Kumbukkan forest reserves near Pottuvil and Lahugala at high risk-by Prageeth Sampath Karunathilaka"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","name":"eLanka","description":"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization","name":"eLanka","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","width":192,"height":82,"caption":"eLanka"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd","name":"eLanka admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eLanka admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew"],"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52696,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52687\/revisions\/52696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}