Rajarata Viskam and Anurapura Udanaya 2011

Ideal showcase for local quality products:

By Ananda KANNANGARA

The invaluable contribution by small and medium scale industrialists in the country should be commended. The economy in any country could be developed not only with the support extended by industrialists but also by cultivators and service suppliers. Therefore it is the duty of the governments to provide necessary assistance to all sectors to carry out their activities smoothly.

The forthcoming `Rajarata Viskam and Anurapura Udanaya 2011', the three-day industrial exhibition which will be held at Swaranapali Balika Vidyalaya, Anuradhapura on September 15, 16 and 17 will give a life long opportunity to industrialists in the North Central Province to exhibit products they had manufactured.

North Central Provincial Council Minister H.B. Semasinghe has made necessary arrangements to make this exhibition a success.

When Sunday Observer sought Minister Semasinghe's comments on the annual exhibition, he said the objective of holding this exhibition was to give an opportunity to a large number of small and medium scale industrialists in the North Central Province to exhibit their products to visitors, all under one roof.

While thanking all the industrialists in the Anuradapura district for their co-operation, Minister Semasinghe said the exhibition will help them to establish a ready market for their products and will also encourage them in their future production.

The expo will be conducted with the assistance of the Department of Textile and the National Handicraft Council.

The Co-operatives, Trades Food, Textile Industries, Rural Development and Industries Minister Semasinghe said industrialists and other manufacturers of goods including cultivators are the backbone of the country's economy and therefore it is the duty of the Government to protect these sectors and also to encourage them to develop their business activities.

He said industrialists as well as service suppliers along with cultivators make a remarkable contribution to improve the country's economy. The exhibition is open to all sectors in the District to exhibit their products and their services cannot be valued from rupees and cents.

The Minister was of the view that people in Anuradapura and suburban districts faced immense hardships for more than three decades due to the conflict. Industries were closed down and cultivators could not continue with their regular activities. The educational activities too were disrupted.

He said Mahinda Rajapaksa Government was able to change this scenario within a short time, with the help of Armed Forces.

He said now that a peaceful atmosphere is prevailing in the entire Anuradapura district, people are leading a happy and peaceful life. They are also engaged in their own activities like in the past. The exhibition will also give them an opportunity to exhibit their products.

The chief organisers of the exhibition are the Department Industrial Development of the North Central Province, Rural Development Department and the Chamber of Commerce.

The organisers expect a large number of leading local and foreign industrialists and businessmen at the exhibition. They will participate with the objective of providing raw materials to small and medium scale industrialists and also to order their finished products such as ready-made garments, handicraft including batiks, reed wear, clay products, brass wear , cane products, processed food items, ornamental items etc.

The member societies of the North Central co-operatives, handicraft and garment industries , Agriculture Board and the North Central Housing Ministry will also extend their co-operation to make the exhibition a success.

The organisers will also conduct seminars for school children and people on various industries during the exhibition period . These seminars will be conducted within the assistance of the Consumer Authority, the Central Environmental Authority and the Mahailluppallama Agriculture Research Development Institute.

Minister Phrasemaking also said many industrialists in the country still face untold hardships to develop their industries. They face financial problems and many of them stop their regular productions due to lack of raw materials.

"My objective is to meet small, medium and large scale industrialists regularly to discuss their problems and help them to develop their industrial ventures".

When interviewed some residents in Anuradapura, about the forthcoming exhibition, an industrialist in Anuradapura West, Sumanapala Saparamadu said he will have a batik shop at the exhibition and unlike in the past the raw materials which will used to make batik clothing very expensive and requested the Government to reduce the taxes for the benefit of over 200 families who are involved in the industry.

Sumanawathi Peiris, a handicraft manufacturer thanked the organisers for conducting such an exhibition and said the exhibition is held once a year and requested them to hold such exhibitions at least thrice a year.

Fifty-two-year-old Kusumpala, a traditional goods manufacturer proposed to the Government to hold such exhibitions at the Katunayaka Airport premises and also at the BMICH , in Colombo, so that manufacturers could earn a tidy sum as income every year.

North Central Provincial Council officials Mrs Chandra Chandradasa, W.M.R.B. Weerasekara, Ms. Anoma Manel, Ms. Karuna Kulatunga , Director Upul Wehara and Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Director P.B. Dissanayaka will also attend the three-day exhibition.