Wildlife veterinarian Chandana Jayasinghe has stated that North Western Wildlife Regional Veterinarian Isuru Hewakottage has not submitted a resignation letter to the Director General of Wildlife Conservation.

Jayasinghe made the statement while appearing on Ada Derana’s ‘BIG FOCUS’ programme today (20).

Media reports yesterday claimed that veterinarian Isuru Hewakottage had submitted his resignation following intense criticism and allegations on social media over the treatment provided to tusker Kawanthissa, which recently died.

However, Jayasinghe clarified that the relevant resignation letter had not been submitted to the Director General.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody also addressed the circumstances surrounding the death of Kawanthissa during the programme.

Responding to a question about what went wrong in the efforts to save the elephant and whether any necessary preparations had been overlooked, Deputy Minister Jayakody said the tusker’s death had deeply affected the authorities as well.

He said veterinary teams and the Ministry of Environment had taken all possible measures to save the animal, but it had died despite their efforts.

The Deputy Minister also rejected criticism suggesting that the government and the Department of Wildlife Conservation had done nothing to protect elephants.

He maintained that the government had undertaken numerous initiatives to safeguard elephants since assuming office, claiming that these efforts had contributed to a gradual reduction in human-elephant conflict.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding Kawanthissa’s death are ongoing.