Politics banished from welfare, development - President

Rohan Mathes

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday inaugurated the renovated Galle International Cricket Stadium, inclusive of the newly-constructed Pavilion, at a colourful ceremony in Galle yesterday.

The stadium which was destroyed by the 2004 tsunami was renovated at a cost of Rs. 500 million.

Making an inspection tour of the stadium, President Rajapaksa directed officials to expedite work at the site.

He also directed them to exclude the World Heritage Site of the Galle Fort from the Stadium Pavilion.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, President Rajapaksa said that while eradicating terrorism in all its forms to pave the way for a peace-loving, independent and a sovereign state, his Government would also uplift the country's economy, protect the moral and spiritual values of the people and its national culture in the process.

Sri Lanka has achieved a pivotal position and much fame in cricket and he believed that cricket would transform the country into a healthy and well-disciplined nation. To this end, his Government will do all at its disposal to provide the required infrastructure facilities to propagate cricket on an islandwide basis.

"There is no politics in cricket. We should divorce politics from the provision of welfare facilities to the people. We should not view the country's development from an envious perspective.

"We all need peace and harmony today," he said. "The Galle Stadium is a gift not only for Galle, but also to all the people of this land," the President said.

The pledge given to rejuvenate all properties devastated due to the 2004 tsunami has now been fulfilled, the President added.

Ministers Gamini Lokuge, Piyasena Gamage, Mahinda Wijesekera, Gunaratna Weerakone, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and Southern Province Governor Kumari Balasuriya and Chief Minister Shan Wijayalal de Silva and officials of Sri Lanka Cricket participated.