Sri Lanka government revokes decision to remove wasp nests from tourist hot spot

Jun 15, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S.M. Chandrasena announced today that the wasps nests would not be removed from the vicinity of Sigiriya rock fortress, the main tourist attraction in North Central Province.
Authorities had earlier announced that the wasp nests would be removed from the world heritage site which is a major tourist hot spot in the island.
Minister Chandrasena who visited Sigiriya today opposed the decision to remove the wasps earlier as well.
The Central Cultural Fund previously said that measures were being taken to eliminate the wasp nests from the site.
Recently, the visitors to the site were injured several times due to attacks of the wasps. The nests were removed earlier also but the insects returned to the rock fortress within several months.
Environmentalists argue that the proposal to catch the wasps and release them to the Maduru Oya forest would kill them since they would not adjust to the new environment.
The environmentalists also pointed out that it would not be a solution to the problem.
The Minister said that the government would take actions to provide safety jackets to the visitors to use in case of an attack.

Source:http://colombopage.com/