Farewell call on CP Governor and Chief Minister:
Sri Lanka, India ties at peak - HC
Work on the 150-bed base hospital at Dickoya, Hatton is progressing
smoothly and the fully-equipped hospital would be handed over by August
or September 2013, Indian High Commissioner Ashok K Kantha said.
Indian High Commissioner Ashok K Kantha meets Central
Province Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa and Chief Minister
Sarath Ekanayake |
The High Commissioner during a visit to the Central Province on April
22 and 23, paid farewell calls on Central Province Governor Tikiri
Kobbekaduwa and Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake and noted the strong and
close bilateral relationship between India and Sri Lanka.
He highlighted various developmental projects being implemented in
Sri Lanka, with particular reference to the Central Province, with
Indian grant assistance, supplementing the various initiatives of the
Sri Lanka government to uplift the standard of living of estate workers.
Kantha underlined that construction work at the 150-bed base hospital
at Dickoya, Hatton, was progressing smoothly and that the fully-equipped
hospital would be handed over by August/September 2013.
The Governor and the Chief Minister appreciated the Indian
government's efforts to assist plantation workers in the Upcountry areas
and thanked the Indian government for constructing the 150-bed hospital
at Dickoya, setting up three Vocational Training Centres, providing
CEWET and Mahatma Gandhi scholarships for higher education and also
making available buses for improved access and connectivity in the
estate areas.
They also commended the installation of the 16-foot Buddha statue in
Sarnath style, from the Gupta period, at the entrance of the
International Buddhist Museum and the efforts underway to set up the
Indian Gallery at the International Buddhist Museum at Sri Dalada
Maligawa.
The High Commissioner offered to gift books to the public library at
Getambe in Peradeniya, set up by the Central Provincial Council and to
have further discussions on collaborating with respect to setting up an
Institute of Higher Studies in the Central Province.
Responding to concerns expressed by the two dignitaries regarding the
two incidents involving assaults on Sri Lankan monks in Tamil Nadu,
Kantha underlined that these were isolated incidents and did not reflect
the strong people-to-people bonds that have been an integral part of the
close historical, cultural and civilisational ties between the two
countries.
He also conveyed that the state government of Tamil Nadu had taken
immediate action to identify and prosecute the miscreants responsible
for these incidents and that the Indian government, in consultation with
state governments, has taken and will continue to take all possible
measures to ensure the safety, security and well-being of Sri Lankan
visitors to India, including to Tamil Nadu. The High Commissioner
invited the Governor and the Chief Minister to visit India. |