All should strengthen President's hands to defeat LTTE - Kumara Welgama

by Milton Dharmasinghe, Bulathsinhala Spl. Corr.

Minister of Industrial Development Kumara Welgama called upon the political parties to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa Government to defeat the LTTE.

The Minister was addressing a meeting following the laying the foundation stone for the new Madurawala Pradeshiya Sabha building at Madurawala held last Friday. Minister of Education Services Nirmala Kotalawala and WP Chief Minister Reginald Cooray participated.

Minister Welgama said "We can't be under the threat of Prabhakaran. The LTTE will not give up the idea of Eelam. Therefore in order to solve the ethnic problem, the main political parties in the country should join with the government without thinking of party politics, instead of making secret plots to topple the government.

Opposition parties should cooperate with the ruling party to eradicate terrorism. President Rajapaksa has started acting against terrorism; he needs the assistance of all opposition parties. "Today some MPs have started crossing over - some to the government and some to the opposition.

This situation has demeaned the status of MPs and Ministers themselves. Now some are known as 'Koti Pahe Keli'.

This is not a good signal for the future. Some say the Cabinet should be reduced to 30 ministers". The government can't proceed in that manner it leads to the fall of the government.

Minister of Education Services Nirmala Kotalawala said that under the present system of elections there won't be an MP for Bulathsinhala. That was what had happened during the past two decades.

Votes from Bulathsinhala electorate alone an MP couldn't be elected, as he needed more votes from other electorates in the district.

WP Chief Minister Reginald Cooray said, "Some of our Pradeshiya Sabha members make several appeals for their benefit, but they have forgotten that they should clamour for scrapping the existing proportional representative system which has made disunity and dispute within parties and members of the same party and debarred the entire progress of the country."

"Before I became the Chief Minister of WP when allocating money for districts, Kalutara was given the less amount, but during my tenure of office I took steps to provide funds equally to the three districts. Recently new Pradeshiya Sabhas were set up so they have to start their work from the beginning.

So WPPC decided to provide 100 per cent assistance for the promotion of the PC. The setting up of this new building for Madurawala PS is a result of it. We have allocated Rs. 4 million for the construction.

Ven. Madanwala Saranapala Thera, Ms. Puspajith Seelawicrama, Chairman Madurawala, PS, Ananda Jayawardhana also spoke.

Dental clinic set up in memory of Nalim Hadjiar

(B. M. Mukthar, Beruwala Spl. Corr)

Dr. Claus Macher, - the President Dentists without limits Nurenberg Germany said that the Dentists without limits has set up dental clinics in several countries in the world, similarly, a dental clinic has been set up in memory of Nalim Hadjiar in Beruwala.

He was speaking at a ceremony held at Al-Humaissara National School at Beruwala. The Principal A. L. Ziraj presided.

He said "The people of Sri Lanka have won the confidence of other countries and from 1989, he visited Sri Lanka during holidays."

He said that vacations are spent profitably by visiting these dental clinics. It is a great pleasure to set up a clinic in Sri Lanka, and that they intend to assist Sri Lanka in future too.

Mr. Karl Eye Kaufer, former district minister of Kin Zig Grace of Germany coordinated to construct the dental clinic.

Said that the people of Kin Zig Grace of Germany constructed school buildings, nursery schools, health centres and housing schemes and also donated boats for fishermen, tractor for the UC and has rendered much service to Beruwala. In the future too such service would be rendered to the Beruwala area.

The Chairman UC - Beruwala Mazhim Mohammed said that Nalim Hadjiar who passed away recently was a great philanthropist and construction of a dental clinic in his memory was a great service.