(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says the government’s objective is to rebuild and develop the war-torn North and elevate Jaffna to a major city of Sri Lanka as in the past.
He stressed that to achieve this objective a major economic boom will be launched with Jaffna at the center in the next five years.
Participating at the inauguration of the first phase of the Myliddy Fisheries Harbor in Jaffna this morning, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he was inviting the people of the north to join hands in the path of development.
The first phase of the Myliddy Fisheries Harbor completed at a cost of Rs. 150 million was vested with the public by the Prime Minister.
With the construction of the Myliddy Fisheries harbor, fishermen community in the North will get many benefits including the introduction to modern technology in fishing and insurance coverage.
The Premier also declared open the Thirunelveli Agricultural Research Center built at a cost of Rs.30 million in Jaffna today.
Addressing the gathering after opening of the Fisheries Harbor, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe explained that his government first focused on the country’s social and infrastructural development and now places a heavy stress on economic development.
Mr. Wickremesinghe revealed that with the Mayor of Jaffna steps have been taken to plan and build the new Jaffna city.
Minister of Agriculture, Rural Economic Affairs, Irrigation and Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development P Harrison said that the Government has launched a major program to strengthen the fishing community in the North as well as in the South.
He said the government was able to finish the first phase of the Myliddy Fisheries Harbor at a cost of Rs. 150 million and open for the public and in the future, the fishermen in the North will be trained to adopt modern technology, introduce insurance coverage for them and provide a common price for fish food.
Minister of State for Education Vijayakala Maheswaran said that although the former government has illegally taken over the lands of the public in the North and East, a large number of lands have been released to the owners after the present government came to power.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Mavai Senathirajah said he would like to thank the government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was instrumental in the completion of the first phase of the Myliddy Fisheries Harbor in a year.
He further said that 75 percent of the lands occupied by the Security Forces in the Northern Province have been released to the public.
State Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Dilip Wedaarachchi, Northern Province Governor Suren Raghavan and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs M. A. Sumanthiran, Dharmalingam Siddharthan, Sri Saravanabhavan, Former Northern Provincial Council Chairman C.V.K. Sivagnanam, Jaffna Mayor E. Arnold and many others were present.
