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Seventy third regional cultural centre opens at Ruwanwella

by Nadira Gunatilleke

The Cultural Affairs Ministry has already set up 72 regional cultural centres under its `Cultural Centres Program' implemented under the direction of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga at a cost of Rs. 144 million, Cultural Affairs Ministry sources said.

The sources said that the 73rd cultural centre will be opened at Ruwanwella on November 30. Another cultural centre is to be opened at Ranmutugala Women's Detention Centre within this month. The Ministry spends about Rs. 2 million for each cultural centre to provide facilities including library books, audio visual equipment, musical instruments and sports equipment.

Each cultural centre consists of a small library, theatre and facilities for indoor and outdoor sports. These cultural centres offer different training courses for the general public including dancing training courses, music training classes, drama courses, seminars and workshops on photography, painting and sculpture.

The cultural centres also function as research and preservation centres for the cultural characteristics that peculiar to the relevant areas. Art exhibitions and sales are also held at these centres. The students who have been following different training courses at these cultural centres will be given opportunities to participate in foreign cultural tours and the first batch of such students toured China last month. Three talented students trained at the Dambulla and Kegalle cultural centres had received this opportunity.

A Chinese cultural delegation led by Chinese Cultural Affairs Deputy Minister Pan Zhenzho visited Sri Lanka recently and they promised to provide electric organs worth Rs. 1.2 million for the use of the cultural centres. They praised the 'Cultural Centre Program' and also promised to provide assistance to teach the Chinese language to Sri Lankan rural students. 

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