This Article is From May 09, 2017

For PM Modi's Visit To Sri Lanka Tea Estate, Preps To Save Him From Wasps

More than 6,000 policemen will be deployed to provide additional security during Prime Minister Modi's overnight visit

For PM Modi's Visit To Sri Lanka Tea Estate, Preps To Save Him From Wasps

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit to tea plantations in Sri Lanka, thousands of wasps to be evicted

Colombo: Sri Lanka has taken the unusual step of clearing thousands of wasps from a tea plantation to ensure Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not stung during his upcoming visit to the neighbouring country. Police in Hatton, 125 kilometres east of Colombo, hired a private company to remove the wasps from its picturesque tea fields which PM Modi will tour with his entourage on Friday.

The private Bee Protection Organisation said they removed nests from two locations to ensure that Prime Minister Modi and his delegation could land in helicopters without stirring up trouble with wasps.

"There were two big nests near two helipads. At the time of landing, helicopters can disturb the wasps and they could sting people in that area," the head of wasp removal unit Tissa Bandara Thambavita told news agency AFP. "We have cleared the nests and declared the area safe for the VVIPs to visit," he added.

The winged evictees were removed humanely and relocated to a nearby jungle, Mr Thambavita added. A team will remain on site to ensure those kicked out do not return before Prime Minister Narendra Modi touches down.

It will be the second time in just over two years that PM Modi has visited neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Sri Lanka on Thursday as chief guest at the Buddhist celebration of Vesak, which marks the birth, enlightenment and the passing of the Buddha.

PM Modi will address a Buddhist conference in Colombo before travelling by helicopter to the central tea country to open an India-funded hospital and address Indian-origin plantation workers. He will also visit Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth, before leaving on Friday evening.

Sri Lankan police have said they will deploy more than 6,000 officers to provide additional security during Prime Minister Modi's overnight visit.
 
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