Call to cultivate coconut and palmyra - Minister Devananda

Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda said that coconut and palmyra vegetation which once contributed much to the sustenance of the life of the people of the North and the East was destroyed during the war against terrorism. It should be replanted and developed and for this purpose people could obtain assistance from the ongoing programs launched by the Coconut Development Board and the Palmyra Development Board.

The Minister was speaking at the Development Council, Committee meeting of the Kilinochchi Pachchaipalli Divisional Secretariat Division at its Divisional Secretariat last week.

The Minister said that except for four Grama Seva Divisions, the demining in all the other Grama Seva Divisions belonging to the Pachchailipalli Divisional Secretariat has been completed and that action has been taken to expedite the demining of these four GS Divisions as well. The Minister instructed the 'Halo Trust' demining organisation to give priority to the demining of these four GS Divisions.

The Minister also said that the Northern Provincial Council would resolve the dearth of Medical Officers at the hospitals by August. He instructed officials to construct toilets for the public at Pudukkadu Junction and called upon voluntary organisations to provide sanitary facilities to the newly resettled in the area.

He told officials of the Sri Lanka Transport Board not to be always concerned with profits but to give priority for quality of service and also called upon them to operate buses for schoolchildren in time. He instructed the Educational Authorities to appoint English teachers at the Pallai Central College on a contract basis due to the dearth of English teachers. He also instructed the officials of the National Housing Department to provide loans at very low rates of interest to those newly resettled.