Spot-billed pelican interact on the banks of an artificial lake in Colombo on September 28, 2021. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

Police officers try to stop medical students as they protest against Sri Lanka's crippling economic crisis, outside the Health Ministry in Colombo on April 6, 2022. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

A Tamil devotee lights an oil lamp at a religious ceremony during the Diwali or Deepavali festival at Ponnambalavaneshwaram Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 24, 2022. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

In this photograph taken on August 9, 2023, children make their way along a street during heavy downpour in Kilinochchi. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

Elephants forage for food at a rubbish dump encroaching on their jungle habitat in Oluvil, Sri Lanka in September 2020. Examination of dead elephants has revealed undigested polythene and other plastic waste. (Photo by Tharmaplan Tilaxan/Cover Images)

A Sri Lankan Christian girl wears a Santa hair band and a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus as she arrives at a church to attend the Christmas mass in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, December 25, 2020. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)

Passengers wearing protective masks travel on an over crowded train towards capital city, amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 8, 2020. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

A Sri Lankan traditional dancer performs during a Gini Madu Shanthikarmaya, a traditional Sinhalese ritual in Batuwatta, Sri Lanka, on August 14, 2022. The Gini Madu Shanthikarmaya, is a ritual tradition that invokes the blessings of the goddess Pattini and lasts up to 12 hours. (Photo by Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images)