First tsunami, then fire cause heavy damage to industrialist

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

MADURANKULIYA: A large coir mill at Madurankuliya in the Puttalam district was completely destroyed when it caught fire last week. The owner of the mill M.C. de Soysa of Ambalangoda said he has lost property worth Rs. 200,000. He said thirty people of the village were employed in the factory and the factory produced four containers of fibre dust and coir every month for export.

It is believed that a cigarette butt thrown away by somebody has caused the fire.

A police team headed by Mundalama Police OIC Vijitha Mansakkara was able to douse the fire but it was too late to protect the properties. Soysa, a stable industrialist who brought foreign currency to the country became a victim of tsunami two years ago also when all his coir products ready for export in the factory in Ambalangoda washed away. He said this incident occurred at a time that he was trying hard to regain from the earlier incident and requests from the authorities to give him a hand at this hour.

Chairman Coconut Development Authority D. Purasinghe said he was trying to help him some way although there is no provision to support him for this type of damage.