No country can progress if people are divided - Minister Amunugama

National unity is an essential prerequisite to develop the country on a sound economic foundation. No country or nation can achieve progress if its people are divided on political or other petty lines, said Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama.

Dr. Amunugama was addressing a meeting after commissioning a newly installed fountain complex in the Kandy Bogambara Lake on Saturday.

The fountain complex was built by the Premier Fountain Company of India under a programme sponsored by the BoI costing Rs. 8 million on Minister Dr. Amunugama’s initiative.

Dr. Amunugama said the Kandy Lake is an important feature of Senkadagala city. In ancient times it was known as ‘Kiri Muhuda’. According to ancient literature Kandy had been designed as a heavenly city.

The Kandy Lake itself was an irrigation masterpiece created according to high irrigation technology. A complex canal scheme had been built during the time of Sinhala kings to carry its outflow of water up to Gampola through and underground canal network.

The Kandy Lake had been polluted in recent times due to harmful human activity including unlawful land reclamation. This resulted in the growth of Algae and the death of fish shawls.

Purification of lake water was undermined when there was no outflow due to clogging caused by algae and other pollutants. The new fountain complex was part of a process of cleaning up the lake.

Dr. Amunugama said the Government had allocated massive funds to develop Kandy as a garden city. During his earlier tenure as Irrigation and Finance Minister he had allocated nearly Rs. 100 million towards the development of Kandy. It was the duty of all to keep the Kandy Lake clean and tidy.

Dr. Amunugama said he had sent a team of investors to Kandy to put up a fertiliser plant utilising garbage, collected in Kandy. This would enable the Kandy MC to devise a sound waste management programme.

Central Province Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, Provincial Council Member Dilum Amunugama, Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara, DIG Kingsley Ekanayake, SSP Jagath Abeysiriwardena and Provincial Irrigation Director Mrs. Godaliyadda were also present in the occasion.