Ipalogama Ranaviru City:

Vision fulfilled

When President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open the Ipalogama Ranaviru City in the Anuradhapura District on Sunday it was a realization of a pledge he had made to the members of the Armed Forces during the last Presidential election campaign.

For the 1,509 members of the three Armed Forces, who were the beneficiaries it was the fulfillment of one of their major hopes of owning their own houses in a well ordered township provided with all the infrastructure and public services from the preschool, school, the banks, medical centre, shopping mall so that these families would not have to go out of their town to attend to their needs.

The housing complex the first such project came just six months after the defeat of the terrorist group and during its construction Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa personally looked into every aspect of it and took pains to ensure its completion as soon as was possible.

Though there were a number of Presidents who were the Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces it was the foresight of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that conceived the idea of a large housing scheme for the armed forces as these men or women had contributed their share towards liberating the country and though it would be sad to say that some of them had come from families that did not own any property would share for the first time in the recent history of the country.

It was a very relaxed and happy President who not only handed over the keys of the new homes to the members of the armed forces but also mixed freely with the corporals, the leading seamen or airmen of the three forces while the commanders of the three Armed Forces also were present with the him.

- Wijitha Nakkawita

The President opens the Ranaviru city	Lights the oil lamp of a new house
Admission of children to the school	Playground for children
Hands over deeds to Army, Navy and Air Force personnel
	Religious observances
The President talks to War heroes	The President talks to a family
War heroes