A total of 84 new single-cab vehicles have been handed over to the Department of Wildlife Conservation with the aim of protecting the country's wildlife resources, addressing the human-elephant conflict and strengthening the department's field operations.
The vehicles were handed over under the patronage of Minister of Environment Dr. Dammika Patabendi and Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody.
This is the largest fleet of vehicles provided to the Department of Wildlife Conservation at a single occasion, increasing its total vehicle fleet to 294.
Accordingly, the department now has 84 single-cab vehicles, 16 double-cab vehicles, three crew cabs, 181 motorcycles, nine tractors and one hand tractor.
The current government has implemented a comprehensive programme to address the longstanding shortage of human and physical resources in the wildlife sector since assuming office, the Ministry of Environment said in a statement.
Priority has also been given to divisional offices located in areas where human-elephant conflicts and forest destruction are frequently reported when distributing the vehicles.
