26 November 2011
US company Dole, the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producer has dropped plans for a vast banana plantation in a Sri Lankan national park.
Dole planned to team up with Sri Lankan company Letsgrow Ltd to establish the plantation in Somawathiya National Park.
Letsgrow Ltd is owned by cricketers Pramodya Wicramasinghe and Muttiah Muralitharan.
The land in question was acquired by the company from the Sri Lankan Army.
Dole said in a statement to the BBC it had vacated the site and had ‘ceased all commercial operations’.
The national park is inhabited by an endangered subspecies of the Asian Elephant, along with many other rare species.
The plans were severely criticised by environmental activists on the island.
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