Hambantota Port to be ready ahead of schedule

Sixty-five per cent of the work on two break-water arms (east and west) of the Hambantota Port has been already completed and the excavation and dredging work is in progress for the channel across Karagamlewaya.

As excavation is being done under dry conditions, preventing water from coming into the basin from the outside, much money and time has been saved. Underwater excavation would have cost much more, according to official sources.

A new international port will be developed and containers too in the region will be handled at the Hambantota Port, encouraging more industrialists to the country and also the development in this sector in the country.

The port is designed for futuristic needs of deep draughts and wide yard areas so that when the Colombo Port is unable to extend facilities, the Hambantota Port will be ready to take over that demand and be ahead of competitors in the region, the officials said. Hambantota is a highly underutilised land area and is in close proximity to international shipping routes.

According to the officials, at present more than 100 vessels bypass Sri Lanka's South-West coast daily, with no value being added from it to the country's economy.

Therefore, the Hambantota Port will be developed to cater to twelve areas - Thermal power generation, oil refinery and petrochemical industry, coal fired power plant, bunkering services, coal trans-shipment and distribution, ship-building and repair activities, bonded export processing zone, bulk cargo and general cargo berths, fishing activities and export of fish products and container traffic.

The first vessel is scheduled to sail from the port by January 2011.

Birth and death anniversaries

from April 12-18

April 13

**Death of Dudley Senanayake in 1973.

April 14

**Birth of Sunil Shantha, (Sinhala singer) in 1915.

April 16

Birth of Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan in 1851

**Birth of Charlie Chaplin, American actor, comedian and film-maker in 1889.

April 17

**Death of Benjamin Franklin, in 1790.

**Birth of George Keyt, artist in 1901.

**Birth of Sirimavo Bandaranaike . The first woman Prime Minister in the World, in 1916.

Special events which took place in history, from April 12-18

April 12

* The American Civil War began in 1861.

* S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1956.

April 15

* The Galle Fisheries harbour was ceremonially opened in 1973.

16th April

* National Day of Denmark.

April 17

Kreeda, the Sinhala sports weekly, commenced publication in 1983.

Dear School: Please exscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.

*****

Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip. John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face.

Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.

***********

A teacher asked a pupil to name the four seasons. He replied without a second thought, Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. (The kid's father was a chef.)

************

Nathan, after his first day at school, returned home and told his mother, `I'm wasting my time at school. I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk.'

***********

The police/school liaison officer was on an official visit when Mary (age 6), approached him.

`Are you a policeman?’ Mary asked. ‘Yes,’ answered Roger smiling. ‘My mum said if I was ever in trouble then I ought to ask a policeman for help. Is that true?’ ‘Of course,’ uttered Roger.

‘Then will you please tie my shoelace?’ asked Mary.

Two million fruit trees to be planted on April 14

As a contribution to the national agricultural development drive, Api Wawamu, Rata Nagamu, a campaign to plant two million fruit trees will be launched on New Year Day.

The tree planting campaign will be assisted by eight ministries including Agriculture and Agrarian Services, Planation Industries, Environment and Natural Resources and all statutory bodies coming under the Ministry of Co-operatives and Co-operative Societies.

Saplings of jak, bread fruit, coconut, mango, banana, papaw, lime, orange and rambutan will be planted. The Coconut Development Board, Agriculture Department and Agrarian Services Department will provide the saplings. Co-operative Societies and Sanasa General Association have established nurseries for supplying seedlings. The Ministry has appealed to all members of Co-operative Societies to plant at least one in their home gardens. The Ministry hopes to plant two million seedlings of fruit bearing plants at National and Provincial level throughout the country.This campaign is being organised under a concept of Trade, Marketing Development and Co-operatives Minister Bandula Gunawardana. The inaugural ceremony will be held under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Provincial level ceremonies will be held under the patronage of respective Provincial Ministers.

All trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovary of a flower containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the term `furit tree' is limited to those that provide fruit for human food.

National policy of saving rain water

The Ministry of Agriculture has been instructed by the Minister of Agriculture, Hemakumara Nanayakkara to prepare a national policy on conserving rain water for agricultural purposes.

Agricultural officers are of the view that since the world renowned scientists have already predicted severe shortages of pure drinking water in the future, steps to conserve water and prevent water pollution must be looked into immediately.

Consequently, school communities and farming communities would be educated by the Ministry on ways and means of conserving and preventing water pollution, giving high priority to it as an urgent national necessity.

A facility for the collection of rain water in all buildings is mandatory (compulsory) in the country, according to Rain Water Harvesting Legislation in the country. Accordingly, all buildings including homes, should have a tank to collect rain water for other purposes excluding drinking.

The total rainfall in Sri Lanka for a year is about 100 billion cubic meters out of which about 60 per cent is wasted. If this rain water which falls on the roofs of hospitals, schools and other buildings are collected in tanks in the premises itself, it could be used for numerous domestic purposes. Most rain water collection systems around the world are designed to capture rain water from the roofs of buildings. The water is then transported through gutters and other pipes into tanks, where it is stored until needed. The water collected can be used for irrigation, laundry, personal hygiene, or even as potable water, depending on the materials used and the treatment undertaken by the home owner.

Saving rain water saves money and helps the environment - The more rain water is used, the less the need to use chlorinated or other chemically treated tap water. The more we use rain water, the less that will go into storm sewers where it is mixed with oil and other toxic residues from streets or parking lots, allowing for more use of settling ponds to remove these toxins.

Technology for Lankan rural children

The government has decided to obtain assistance from the Sri Lankan expatriates to bestow the latest technology to the children in rural areas to keep pace with the modern world and thereby relieve the government of the entire burden of funding this project.

Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka said this after opening the new computer unit of the Primary School, Millewa recently.

The unit was funded by two expatriates in Australia, Hemantha and Surani Punchihewa. The computer unit in the Millewa Primary School is the first phase of this project.

Do you have any idea who invented the computer? In 1884, Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, tried to build a complicated machine called the "analytical engine". It was mechanical, rather than electronic, and Babbage never completed it, but computers today are based on many of the principles he used in his design. Forty years ago, computers were so large that they filled whole rooms.

They were so complicated that only specially trained people were able to use them. But today, computer lessons are being conducted in schools from Grade 1 onwards and the children swiftly grasp the method of handling a computer efficiently. This trend is found in urban areas and not in the rural villages. This project by the government to improve the standards of the rural children in their knowledge in latest technology, is a welcome move.