COLOMBO, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka has deployed civil defense personnel to safeguard paddy warehouses operated by the Paddy Marketing Board following growing threats from wild elephants, a deputy minister said on Wednesday.
Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation Susil Ranasinghe said the Ministry of Defense has been notified of the deployment. He noted that personnel will be stationed at 27 warehouses across 11 districts identified as being at risk of elephant attacks.
The move to deploy civil defense personnel comes in response to several incidents in recent years when wild elephants have damaged paddy storage facilities. ■
