Sri Lanka battles wild jumbos to save white-elephant airport
The Peninsula
Colombo: Sri Lanka will deploy a special strike force to keep wild elephants away from a loss making airport in a bid to encourage airlines to use it,...
Colombo: Sri Lanka will deploy a special strike force to keep wild elephants away from a loss-making airport in a bid to encourage airlines to use it, the government said Wednesday.
Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the cabinet of ministers had approved the establishment of a wildlife unit with 18 guards to ensure elephants and other wild animals do not stray onto the runway at Mattala.
The Chinese-funded and constructed airport, located in the home constituency of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and named after him, has failed to earn enough to cover its upkeep since its inauguration in 2013.
"We are trying to find ways to keep the airport viable," Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo.
The minister said there had been damage to the fences of the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport due to elephant attacks, and the new strike force would help keep wildlife away.
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