Regional Postal Centre in Ampara

As a major step in improving the quality of postal services throughout the country, a regional centre for the distribution of forms and other documentation was opened in Ampara by Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade and Acting Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, recently.

The Minister, in his address, described this initiative as an aspect of modernisation of essential services. He said that more distant regions will benefit particularly from this measure, since the distribution of documents will no longer be handled exclusively from the central office in Narahenpita. There will now be a more rapid and efficient service reflecting greater sensitivity to needs and priorities in different parts of the country, he said.

With the defeat of terrorism and the ushering in of stable and durable peace, the Government is now able to utilise greater resources for the development of the country as a whole, with a special focus on rural areas which had suffered comparative neglect in the past. The Government regards development of infrastructure and services as a matter of high priority, Prof. Peiris said.

The transformation which is quiet evident in the Eastern Province, in the form of better roads, new buildings, rural electrification and the significantly improved quality of health and education services, is the result of the Government's policy of giving special attention to the rural hinterland and less developed areas, with a view to enhancing the quality of life in the post-conflict situation.

Minister of Plan Implementation, P. Dayaratna commended this initiative as timely and exceedingly beneficial to the Eastern Province.