Foundation of economy is agriculture: President

President Maithripala Sirisena at the water filling ceremony yesterday with a host of officials, including Power and Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya  

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said that since the reign of kings of ancient Sri Lanka, the economy of the country was strengthened subject to the field of agriculture, and it is the foundation which makes strong in the past, the present as well as in future.  

The President made these remarks participating in the water filling ceremony of Kalu Ganga under the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga Multi-purpose Development Project, and the commencement of the construction of the second stage of the Upper Elahera Canal, Kaluganga-Moragahakanda Transfer Canal/Tunnel, which is the longest tunnel in the South Asia.

Expressing his views, the President further said that the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga development project will become a turning point for the national economy of the country.

Under this project, 2400 irrigation tanks will be renovated, the President said, and added that this project will be the biggest development project implemented in the country after the era of ancient kings, to build the future of the nation and the agro-economy of the country. 

President Sirisena further said that individuals who are attempting to provide ownership to this mega development project, which ended the sorrowful stories of the Rajarata people, did not take the necessary steps to implement this project, and recalled how even the name of the project was not included in the document of the Foreign Resources Department of the Finance Ministry to obtain foreign loans for the project, which commenced in 2007.  

The President said that the day Moragahakanda water was released, fulfilling his 27-year-long dream, was the happiest day of his life. 

President Sirisena expressed his satisfaction over implementing this project without any fraud, corruption and malpractices, and requested the farming community to inform him personally if any issues were to arise regarding the quality of the project construction works, or if there was any fraud or corruption. He said that any charge of corruption would be investigated, and most severe punishment to the perpetrators would be ensured. 

President Sirisena also said that the introduction of a specific unit, composed of a special phone number and a fax number, that would enable the public to make direct inquiry to him in the case that any politician, government officer or a contract organisation was found connected to bribery or fraud, and that neither of these parties would be forgiven by him.

The Kalu Ganga reservoir extends from the Laggala-Pallegama area to the Kalupahana border of the Knuckles mountain range, belonging to the Dumbara valley of Matale district.

The complete velocity is 24,800,000 cubic meters, which is 200,880 acres in feet. The length of the main dam is 618 meters in length, where the height is 68 in meters. The range of the peak of the dam is 8 meters. The other saddle dam is being built in the right side of the reservoir, where the length is 28 meters and the height is 719 meters. The water bed is 128 km in cubic meters, where the capacity of the reservoir is 14.5 cubic meters.

The water filling ceremony of the reservoir took place under the President’s patronage, amidst the chanting of the seth pirith by the Maha Sangha near the Laggala-Kaluganga dam.

In a moment where the dream of President Maithripala Sirisena for over 27 years on behalf of the people of Rajarata is coming true, the first step taken by the President was unveiling the shrine of Lord Buddha’s statue which is 27 meters in height. The President then offered flowers to the statue, amidst the Pirith chanting by the Maha Sangha.

An amount of 25 MW electric current is generated by the Moragahakanda-Kaluganga project to the national electricity grid. This historical moment was also marked by the President.

The President also joined to observe the longest tunnel of South Asia, the Elahera tunnel.  The cost of construction of this tunnel, which is 96 km in length is Rs. 6.7 billion. The rest of the construction was also initiated by the President.

The special event of naming the Moragahakanda reservoir as Kulasinghe reservoir also took place. Dr. A. N. S. Kulasinghe was a great engineer with whom President Maithripala Sirisena did a fundamental research about the construction of the Mahaweli reservoir as the Minister of Mahaweli Development. The location of the Moragahakanda dam was determined by this research. Thus the Moragahakanda reservoir is to be named the Kulasinghe reservoir in memory of Dr. A. N. S. Kulasinghe.  

The newspaper Mahaweli Mehewara was also presented to the President.

The Maha Sangha including other religious leaders, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Mahinda Amaraweera, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, John Amaratunga, Mahinda Samarasinghe, State Minister Weerakumara Dissanayake, State Minister Palitha Range Bandara, Deputy Minister Indika Bandaranayake, governors, diplomats, dignitaries, Secretary to the  Ministry of Mahaweli Development Anura Dissanayake, Director General of the Mahaweli Authority Sarath Chandrasiri Vithana and others participated on this occasion.