Bibile to equal Colombo

Automated delivery of BMD certificates:

Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya launched the Birth, Marriage and Death Certificate Computerization Project (BMD) in Bibile of the Moneragala district recently. The Minister’s maiden official tour to Moneragala has brought benefits of ICT to the people who are living in very remote areas of Bibile.

“We will computerize all Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates in the district with the support of the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka,” Minister Siyambalapitiya said after the inauguration of the project.

“During the last five years ICTA has proven its capability of developing this country through ICT and I am sure we can make Sri Lanka the ‘Wonder of Asia’ with the help of efficient Government organizations like ICTA,” the Minister said.

The Minister commended ICTA’s professional contribution to the national development of Sri Lanka and added that he would fulfill the ICT pledges of Mahinda Chinthana in the years to come.

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given us the challenge of increasing the ICT literacy rate of the country to 75 percent by 2016. We all have to focus on that at any cost,” the Minister said.

The BMD project has been successfully implemented in the Colombo district and it has won several international ICT awards. Almost all the certificates in the Colombo district have been scanned and are now issued within a few minutes to the public on their request.

“The BMD is a very innovative and useful Re-Engineering Government project implemented by ICTA and we are delighted to replicate this project in Moneragala thus helping to bring the ICT dividends to the rural people,” ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura said.

ICTA Program Head Athula Pushpakumara said that in the first phase all 55,000 birth certificates in Bibile would be digitized within a week.

He pointed out that this project would be implemented in all the 11 divisional secretariat divisions in Moneragala with the support of Uva Province Chief Minister Sasheendra Rajapaksa. “President Mahinda Rajapaksa purposely decided to hold Deyata Kirula 2011- the National Development Exhibition - in Moneragala with the aim of accelerating development activities in the country’s poorest district.

As ICT Agency of Sri Lanka which is the apex-body for implementing ICT projects in the country, we are continuously and tirelessly working towards the President’s vision,” he said.

Moneragala Government Agent S Mihindukulasuiya, Telecom and IT Ministry Secretary N Athukorale, Sports Ministry Secretary Udaya R Seneviratna and Moneragala district Parliamentarian Vijith Berugoda also spoke at the inauguration of the project. Sanjaya Lanka Pvt Limited is working as operational partner of the project.