When social media was inundated with rumors that Sri Lanka’s holiest tree was being harmed by 5G mobile signals, Colombo’s cash-strapped government pulled out all the stops.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe dispatched a high-powered team of experts to the 2,300-year-old Sri Maha Bodhi tree in the sacred city of Anuradhapura, an ancient capital of the South Asian nation.
It included the head of the telecom regulator, his technical chief and the director of the National Botanical Gardens, along with university professors and district administrators.
Photo: AFP
Visits were made, surveys were carried out, and the centuries-old tree was examined and monitored before a conclusion was reached: there were no 5G signals in the area in the first place.
The episode highlighted the speed with which fake news travels in Sri Lanka — but even more so, it illustrated the reverence with which the country holds the Sri Maha Bodhi.
The tree is believed to have been grown from a cutting of the bodhi tree in India that sheltered the Buddha when he attained enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago.
It is an object of worship and a symbol of national sovereignty on the majority Buddhist island of 22 million people.
The first claims it was under threat appeared on a local Web site: 5G radiation from towers near the tree was supposedly turning its leaves black, and it was at “great risk” of eventually shedding them all and dying.
Memes were shared widely on Facebook and WhatsApp groups, and a TV presenter repeated the theories on his YouTube channel.
The chief monk of the Bomaluwa Temple that houses the tree in Anuradhapura, 200km north of Colombo, was accused of taking bribes from telecom operators to let them set up 5G base stations nearby.
“I am not a scientist, nor a botanist, so I raised the issue with the president in February,” monk Pallegama Hemarathana, 68, said. “He immediately appointed a panel of experts.”
“The government and the Buddhists will do whatever it takes to protect the Sri Maha Bodhi,” he said.
There are four older base stations within 500m of the tree, but Sri Lankan Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Director-General Helasiri Ranatunga said that there was “no 5G coverage in the sacred area as rumored.”
Radiation in the area was well below WHO thresholds, and botanical experts had ruled there was no threat from existing 2G, 3G or 4G coverage, he said.
However, the panel did recommend banning mobile phone use to preserve the temple’s tranquility, he added.
While there are already signs in place to that effect, they are widely ignored by the hordes of visitors who come to the site.
At the moment, fresh heart-shaped, purple-green leaves are sprouting on the tree.
Botanically a Ficus religiosa — also known as a “bo” — the tree is worshiped by thousands of Buddhists daily as a symbol of the “living Buddha.”
Comparatively small despite its long history, it is propped up by 10 gold-plated iron supports and dwarfed by another bodhi a short distance away.
However, no one is allowed within an arm’s length of the tree. The original tree in India is said to have died centuries ago.
Its Sri Lankan descendant was the scene of a terror attack in March 1985 by separatist Tamil Tiger rebels that left more than 120 people dead.
Since then, the tree has been provided with airport-style security, with visitors going through metal detectors and pat-downs. It is surrounded by two gold-plated fences and protected around the clock by monks, police and armed troops.
Several men are also deployed to clap their hands and chase away squirrels, birds and monkeys that could threaten the tree.
Sashika Neranjan, 39, was visiting on a recent day with his extended family.
“Our sister and brother managed to get permanent residency in Australia after taking a vow here,” he said. “We are here to thank the sacred bo tree.”
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was