Work on Kantale new CEA office begins

Chamikara Weerasinghe

Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka and Eastern Province Chief Minister Shivanesathurai Chandrakanthan laid foundation stones for office building of the Central Environment Authority, (CEA) on Monday at Kantale . Minister Ranawaka was the chief guest.

The new building will serve as the Central Environment Authority’s Regional Office for the Eastern Province replacing its current office in rented premises in Trincomalee, CEA Director General Pasana Gunasena, said.

Eastern Province Chief Minister Chandrakanthan said he was glad to receive the active participation of the CEA in their efforts to develop the east , supported by the government.

He said ,” the time has come to see that Tamil and Sinhala people live in peace and harmony in unity sharing what they have with each other.”

“We must give up war and remove terrorism.”

“When we renounced terrorism in 2004 we ran away from the grip of LTTE in the North , it was the Sinhala public who helped us in our plight when we were hiding in the jungles of Maduru Oya,” he said.

“We have to live with the Sinhala Buddhist public for they are good people,” he added. Environment Minister Champika Ranawaka said , their role will be to assist development that is taking place in the Eastern Province under programmes like Negenahira Udanaya, to ensure that they would be sustainable.

“ We have to ensure their sustainability with the expertise of the Central Environment Authority,” he said.

Ranawaka said there were some political parties today which have been demanding that the weapons be surrendered from TMVP. But the problem is whether these parties who demand that others surrender their weapons have surrendered their weapons which were used by them in 88’ and 89’.