Residents block road after woman killed by elephant
Angry residents blocked the HambantotaSuriyawewa main road on Friday after a 68-year-old woman was killed by a wild elephant while she was sweeping the premises outside her humble home.
P. Babynona was sweeping her garden at about 5.45 a.m. when the attack took place. She died on the spot from her injuries.
Residents who gathered at the scene blocked the Hambantota-Suriyawewa road in protest claiming that authorities had done nothing to protect the villagers from elephant attacks.
The residents even surrounded the vehicle of the Suriyawewa Divisional Secretary (DS), who arrived at the scene to calm the situation. The residents refused to let the vehicle leave the area.
The DS told the residents that the issue of wild elephant attacks was not something he could solve alone.
The residents however, refused to accept this explanation and continued to block the road for several hours.