President invites critics to point out Govt. flaws instead of making false allegations

President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday invited politicians who do not contribute to the development of the country but make false allegations to meet him and point out if there are any flaws in the Government’s programs.

Addressing a function organised to launch the Minipe Left Bank Canal Development Project to reconstruct the left bank of Hasalalka Minipe Ela in Mahiyangana, the President said some politicians were making accusations that the Government was splitting the country and depriving the place given to Buddhism in the Constitution and some opposition politicians claimed that that the country was being betrayed to India and the United States and troops were being withdrawn from the north.

He invited those critics to meet him and point out where such flaws existed and said that as a Government they were engaged in the process of making the country a model to the world.

The renovations to the left bank of the Minipe Ela will be carried out with the aim of providing water to the farming community in Minipe. The project is being implemented in affiliation with the Mahaweli water protection investment program to meet the drinking water needs of the people who are experiencing water shortages and also to supply water for cultivation in both seasons.

The Government is planning to transfer Mahaweli Water to North western, North Central and Northern Provinces under the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Program with the aim of maximising the productivity of Mahaweli River Basin water resources.

The project is funded by the Asian Development Bank in three tranches. The ADB has agreed to provide $ 453 million through three tranches for the implementation of this program for three projects – Upper Elahera Canal Project, North Western Province Canal Project, and Minipe Left Bank Canal Rehabilitation Project.

Under the first stage of the project launched yesterday, reconstruction of 74 kilometers of the Minipe Left Bank will be carried out at an estimated cost of Rs. 9 billion. The Government has allocated Rs. 26 billion for the reconstruction of the Minipe Ela bank, which takes place after 30 years. The project will be completed by 2020 in three stages.

The Minipe Left Bank Canal Development project plans to collect the surplus water received from the Moragahakanda and Kaluganga Reservoirs and the nearby basins for distribution in the North Central and Northwestern Provinces.

The Mahaweli Water Security Institute which has been set up under Mahaweli Development and Environmental Ministry will implement the project. After the completion of the project, 7,500 hectares of Minipe Farmer Settlement will get water for agriculture with no shortage.

The farmers in Minipe and Hasalaka were briefed about the renovations during the past few days under the patronage of Deputy Minister Anuradha Jayaratne.