Image: The chairman of the Wellawaya Pradeshiya Sabha, who has been destroying the Balaharuwa Pariwara forests within the Thethirakanda Reserve, attempted to clear forest land belonging to the Forest Conservation Department and remove an illegal embankment built across a canal leading to a nearby lake, the chairman’s brothers obstructed the Forest Conservation Department’s site officer and prevented the work from being carried out.
Read the story of the Wellawaya Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman’s Brothers
Environmentalists believe that blocking the migratory routes used by wild elephants in Sri Lanka, along with related human activities, is a major factor contributing to the rise in elephant–human conflict in the country. So far, 16 major elephant corridors connecting Sri Lanka’s forest systems have been identified. Among these, the Dathirakanda corridor, which links Lunugamvehera and Udawalawe National Parks, and the Dahaiyagala corridor, which allows elephants to migrate from Udawalawe to Bogahapattiya, are of prime importance. However, environmental organisations warn that both these corridors are being rapidly destroyed due to encroachment, deforestation, and land grabbing for commercial purposes, blocking traditional migration routes for wild elephants for many years.
“Dahaiyagala and Thethirakanda are two critical elephant migration routes that must be protected. If they are destroyed, the impact on surrounding villages could be severe. Due to reckless destruction, the human–elephant conflict has become an almost unsolvable problem,” says Dulip Prasanna of the Monaragala Nature Foundation.
Why are the Wethahirakanda and Dahaiyagala forests important?
The Wethahirakanda Reserve, covering 3,229 hectares, belongs to the Department of Forest Conservation and was declared a reserve on 07.06.2002. The narrow forest strip called Thethirakanda, located between the Kudumbigala Sanctuary and Lunugamvehera National Park, serves as a vital route for elephants travelling to Udawalawe. Surrounding forests managed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation feed this strip, but the Thethirakanda Reserve is shrinking rapidly due to illegal occupation and destruction.
“For several years, forest lands belonging to the Thethirakanda Reserve and adjacent areas managed by the Forest Conservation Department have been cleared extensively. Thousands of acres have already been occupied and left fallow. Recently, large trees such as Kumbuk, Weera, Palu, and Kon in Gemunupura, Debaraara, and Kemhatha within the Balaharuwa State Forest were uprooted, burned, and destroyed. This crime has been committed for some time by the brothers of the Wellawaya Pradeshiya Sabha chairman and their relatives,” says Sameera Wirathunga, an elephant researcher at the Udawalawe Elephant Research Centre.
The destruction caused by the chairman’s brothers
Villagers report that the brothers and relatives of the current Wellawaya Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, Nihal Walimuni, have been damaging forests belonging to the Wethirakanda Reserve for years. Although the chairman himself is not directly involved, forest officials confirm that his brothers and relatives have exploited his political influence to destroy the Balaharuwa forest.
- 23.09.2021: Walimunige Sarath, a resident of Anandapura and the chairman’s brother, was arrested by the Forest Conservation Department for destroying more than three acres of the Balaharuwa forest. He was produced before the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court.
- 23.02.2023: While officers were clearing the Balaharuwa forest using a JCB machine (UPRS 0795) owned by another brother, Walimunige Upul Sanjeewa, a relative named Hitihami Mudiyanselage Pramodya Dulanjana was arrested and produced before the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court. He was later released on bail. Officials reported that more than five acres of forest had been destroyed.
- 05.08.2024: Another brother, Walimunige Udayasena, was arrested for cutting down and destroying about four acres of the Balaharuwa forest. On 25.10.2024, Valimunige Udara Madushanka, a resident of Anandapura in Balaharuwa, was arrested by forest officials and produced before the court for illegally occupying about two acres of forest in the Kenhatha area of the Balaharuwa Forest and constructing an electric fence and an earthen embankment. It was revealed that he is also a brother of the Chairman of the Wellawaya Pradeshiya Sabha.
- On 18.07.2025, Prasanga Anurath Gamage of Lunugamvehera South was arrested by the Wellawaya Forest Office and produced before the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court for illegally clearing about three acres of the Balaharuwa Forest belonging to the Forest Conservation Department. He was fined Rs. 5,000 and ordered to pay Rs. 162,650 in damages. At that time, it was revealed that he had been released on bail previously and is a brother of the Chairman, Walimunige Udayasena.
- Subsequently, on 19.08.2025, four individuals who had encroached on forest lands in the Kenhatha area of the Balaharuwa Forest were arrested and produced before the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court. It was later confirmed that all of them were relatives of the former chairman.
- On 20.08.2025, based on information that a group of brothers and relatives of the Chairman were clearing forests using bulldozers in the Kenhatha area—a fringe forest of the Thethirakanda Reserve—forest officials conducted a raid. The suspects escaped, but officials reported that nearly 30 acres of forest had been destroyed. These facts were reported to the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court.
On 21.08.2025, acting on information that a canal was being cut illegally using a bulldozer in the Balaharuwa Forest, officers of the Wellawaya Forest Office conducted another raid. One suspect was arrested and produced before the court. It was revealed that the suspect was a brother of the Chairman, Walimunige Udayasena, a resident of Anandapura in Balaharuwa.
Based on these incidents, it is evident that the Balaharuwa Forest, which serves as a companion forest to the Thethirakanda Reserve, has suffered extensive damage primarily due to the actions of the Chairman’s family members.
Translated and edited version of a FB post by environmentalist Nayana Sanjeewa.