Daily News Online
   

Tuesday, 4 January 2011

Home

 | SHARE MARKET  | EXCHANGE RATE  | TRADING  | OTHER PUBLICATIONS   | ARCHIVES | 

dailynews
 ONLINE


OTHER PUBLICATIONS


OTHER LINKS

Marriage Proposals
Classified
Government Gazette

Northern agricultural revival

It is reported that land under cultivation in the North has increased by 60 percent in 2010 over the previous year. Also in the Yala season the Northern province farmers had cultivated 8,693 acres and during the present Maha season 21,295 acres.

All this indicate a boom time for the agricultural sector in the North which was dealt a deathblow by the war. It is also a testimony to the industry and drive of the Northern farmer in getting their act together within a short space of time since the end to the war in going back to their fields. Agriculture being the mainstay of the Northern economy for many generations, it is vital that all measures be taken to revive this sector to its pristine past. All land destroyed in the war and those rendered waste due to long years of neglect should be developed and restored to their former state wherever possible. In the national economy now poised to benefit from the Northern economy in large measure a foremost place needs to be accorded to agriculture.

All incentives and support should be extended to develop and uplift the agricultural sector in the North to bring it back to the boom times it enjoyed prior to the war. Steps should be taken to introduce modern methods of farming and cultivation to the Northern farmer who no doubt with his customary enterprise would adapt to the changes. A large number of irrigation tanks that fed the cultivations of the North were destroyed in the war and these need repairs and mending while those that survived needs to be rehabilitated and renovated to enable the farmers obtain a steady supply of water for their cultivations.

The Government should also ensure that the Jaffna farmer received reasonable prices for his produce by putting in place a foolproof mechanism that would circumvent the middleman. With the supply network still not firmly established the State should intervene in this task to ensure that the Jaffna farmer who is just raising his head again is not exploited.

Time was when the South enjoyed a steady inflow of agriculture products and fruits from the North which were welcomed with relish for their unique flavours and varieties. There were also other products especially delicacies derived from the Palmyra palm that were vary popular in the South.

Hopefully this agriculture boom now experienced in the North would herald the come back to that era where the bounties of North were eagerly lapped up in the South. The post war transformation also has provided the opportunity for the revival of other sectors and industries that were unique to the North which while providing a chance to the South to sample their wares and also lend a big boost to the national economy.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has always reiterated the need to raise the level of the country's agriculture sector even while we are rapidly veering towards industrialization. He has launched several programs to underline the importance of agriculture. One of these is the decision to acquire all land that are abandoned and lying in neglect in order to put them under the plough. Hopefully the new agricultural renaissance that is being witnessed in the North would prove a catalyst for the resurgence of the agriculture sector as a whole nationwide so that we would soon attain self-sufficiency in food.

Begging ban

The Government has decided to ban begging across the board. Social Services Minister Felix Perera was quoted in a news report as saying that a new rehabilitation centre would be set up to house beggars once they were removed and relocated by the Police. The Government began by putting a stop to begging in public transport. Beggars have also been evicted periodically in the past when the city was given a facelift to mark some international event such as the Non Aligned Conference in 1976, which also became an election issue at the time.

Begging is not strictly a local phenomenon. Even developed countries have their fair share of beggars. But in Sri Lanka begging has turned out to be a big time racket. This was given credence by a story in the media recently where it was revealed that a so called beggar was in fact an occupant of a two storeyed house in a busy suburb. It also exposed how large-scale beggar rings are being masterminded by mudalalis who train their charges to adopt various ruses to evoke sympathy of the public and enhance their collection such as exposing wounds or the common ruse of bearing an infant in the case of female beggars.

In that context the clamp down on beggars is to be welcomed though it has to be borne in mind that begging is an off shoot of poverty and is a social problem that needs to be tackled on a higher plane and a permanent solutions sought.

Tribute to Edmund Samarakkody:

Politician and trade union leader

Eighteenth death anniversary:

Edmund Samarakkody lawyer, politician and trade union leader passed away on January 4, 1992, leaving behind him, as great men do, footprints on the sands of time spanning over six decades. Samarakkody practiced his profession as a member of the Mount Lavinia Bar for over four decades and it was during this length of time that this writer had the pleasure and privilege of being closely associated with him in many a legal battle in Court concerning public interest or the liberty of the subject that enabled him to closely follow his career as a politician.

Full Story

One studying and learning from US

The United States of America is fond of calling itself The Home of the Brave, the Land of the Free. That’s advertising. Part of that communication campaign requires systematic and relentless vilification of other countries, other peoples. WikiLeaks is supposed to peeled away the glossy cover of the ad and revealed the ugly underside of that countries true character, especially with regard to foreign policy. Not news to those who have the ability and will to read between the lines of the dominant media streams as well as a penchant from browsing alternative sources of information.

Full Story

Economy on a spurt

Significant tourist arrival

The year 2010 has ended with a bang showing that it was a year of economic growth and development.

The eradication of terrorism and the end of the civil disturbances during the last three decades which not only crippled the economic growth and development but also acted as an impediment to investment and production at optimum levels paved the way for regeneration and resurgence.

Full Story

 

EMAIL |   PRINTABLE VIEW | FEEDBACK

www.lanka.info
Donate Now | defence.lk
www.apiwenuwenapi.co.uk
LANKAPUVATH - National News Agency of Sri Lanka
www.army.lk
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL)
www.news.lk
www.defence.lk

| News | Editorial | Business | Features | Political | Security | Sport | World | Letters | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2011 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Comments and suggestions to : Web Editor