Sri Lanka will not allow outside forces to reverse its victories: President
Saturday, 5 April 2014 00:00
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday emphasised that the Government will not allow outside forces to reverse the country’s hard earned victories after facing enormous challenges.
Addressing a function held at the Rambewa Vidyalaya in Anuradhapura to launch the national program to supply drinking water for school children under the Kidney Disease Prevention Program, the President said some countries are unwilling to accept the progress of the island nation and are attempting to halt its progress by engaging in anti-Sri Lankan activities while only some countries are genuinely helping it.
He requested all quarters of the country to come forward on a common front to help build the nation and to enjoy its fear-free atmosphere.
The President observed that people of Sri Lanka who were a strong force during ancient times are now plagued with kidney diseases and noted that an open economy that is not nature friendly has resulted in severe problems such as kidney diseases. He said that the Government is endeavouring to reinstate the old glory of the nation.
He said the Government has taken measures to develop water reservoirs in the area for the benefit of the farmers, especially during the prevailing drought, so that they can make the country self-sufficient in rice.
At the function, President Rajapaksa handed over Health Safety Water Purification Units to 50 selected schools within the Anuradhapura District. The Government has spent Rs. 14 million on the units.
The President also handed over 11 water bowsers provided under the assistance of the Japanese Cooperation Agency (JICA) to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board for distribution among Divisional Secretariat Divisions in Anuradhapura.
Earlier the President participated in the New Rice Harvest Ceremony (Aluth Sahal Mangallaya) at the Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura. Farmers from every part of the country handed over traditional rice varieties to the President at the ceremony.
The President also declared open the Mahindodaya Technical Laboratory at the Rambewa Maha Vidyalaya. It is the first laboratory to be built within the Medawchchiya electorate under the program of building 1,000 Mahindodaya Technical Laboratories in schools countrywide.
Ambassador of Japan in Colombo Nobuhito Hobo, North Central Province Governor Karunaratne Divulgane, Chief Minister S.M. Ranjith, Ministers Tissa Karaliyadde, S.M. Chandrasena, Duminda Dissanayake, Deputy Ministers W.B. Ekanayake, Weerakumara Dissanayake and several parliamentarians were present at the events.
