Assist needy civilians

The Buddhasasana task force of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress has called upon the Buddhist public to curtail expenditure on Amisa pooja during the Vesak and Poson seasons and divert that money to assist needy civilians fleeing terrorist clutches housed in welfare camps in the North.

Venerable Tirikunamale Ananda Anunayake Thera and Agalakada Sirisumana Theras, joint secretaries of the Task Force in a message said the responsibility of providing relief to the lakhs of Tamil civilians housed in these temporary camps cannot be solely cast on the Government.

It is also the duty of the people of the South to come forward and provide succor to their compatriots in the North in times of adversity cast on them due to the misdeeds of the LTTE terrorist outfit.

Already the Maha Sangha, professionals, artistes a host of state and private sector institutions as well as several media institutions have voluntarily come forward to assist this noble and monotonous task.

The Vesak and Poson seasons are an opportune time for Buddhists to fulfil dana paramitha by assisting needy people in the North and South.

The message said premier Buddhist organisations in Colombo have launched a co-ordinated program to collect dry food rations, new clothing, medicine, bottled water and other essential items and promptly dispatch them to the people in the North.

Among them are the ACBC, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo and the Dharmavijaya Foundation and the ‘Rathu Piyuma’ organisation at No. 380/7 Sarana Road off Bauddhaloka Mawatha. Donors can also contact the ACBC on telephone 011-2691695 and the Dharmavijaya Foundation on telephone 011-2698870.