Making Uva the best province

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

Development of the Uva Province has been given high priority in all aspects under the administration of the Uva Province Chief Minister Shashindra Rajapaksa. Many Development Programs are currently under way in Uva and some are completed. The Daily News spoke to the Uva Province Chief Minister Shashindra Rajapaksa about the development of the Uva Province

Q: For which sector have you given priority in the Uva Province development drive?

A: After I was appointed as Uva Province Chief Minister, President Mahinda Rajapaksa encouraged me and gave the responsibility of making Uva Province the best Province in the country.

Uva- Wellassa is blessed to have all types of resources that we need to develop the province. I think we should pay more attention to the education in the development journey - because the future depends on children. So we should lay the foundation well.

Q: What have you done for the betterment of education?

A: We should pay our attention to children as well as teachers. If teachers are not happy we can’t expect a good service from them. So we should always find out their problems and try to solve them as far as possible. We will systematize all statistics of teachers and will take measures to solve their problems such as transfer of salaries as requested.

We have started a program ‘Sipsara Udanaya’ with the objective to give an idea of the competition that is prevalent among students in best schools in other parts of the country.

It is not enough to show talents only at school; there should be good competition with students in other provinces to score top ranks at grade five scholarship examinations. G.C.E.O/L and A/Ls. Lectures from Jayawardenapura, Colombo and Peradeniya universities voluntarily give their service to our students.

Q: From ancient times people in Uva-Wellassa mainly depend on Agriculture. What have you done to develop the agriculture sector?

A: The name Wellassa (Wel-Lakshayak) was suggested as there were hundred thousand paddy fields.

It means Uva-Wellassa had a very great agricultural history. Wellassa also had a proper irrigation system. British rulers destroyed all the irrigation canals and tanks such as Athimale Weva in Buththala. Under the Uva Udanaya development program we have started to rehabilitate 400 irrigation reservoirs in Uva Province at a cost of Rs 1561 million.

We have completed the rehabilitation of 90 tanks and handed them over to farmer communities. With this project we hope that we can successfully participate in the national food production drive by increasing paddy and other crop harvests in the area.

Q: Electricity is another major problem in Uva. What initiatives have you taken to solve this?

A: Only 47 percent of homes receive electricity in Moneragala District. We have started a project to provide electricity for all with the financial support of China.

Q: There is a large number of tourist destinations in Uva- Wellassa. What measures have been taken to promote them?

A: Large number of waterfalls, best climate and historical places such as Mahiyanganaya, Muthiyanganaya and Katharagama, places with scenic beauty such as Sorabora Weva all are in Uva. So the Uva Provincial Council with the help of the Economic Development Ministry and the Tourism Board are jointly engaging in tourism promotion.