Special ceremony to mark assuming of duties anniversary

A special ceremony to mark the first anniversary of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's second term in office will be held at the Kamburupitiya, Upali Wijewardene Conference Hall on November 19 at 2 p.m.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa

A highlight will be the distribution of 8,000 medicinal plants and 300 packets of fertilizer weighing 5 kilos each among prospective growers for setting up 60 herbal gardens in 11 Divisional Secretariat divisions by the Ministry of Agriculture. Indigenous Medicine Minister Salinda Dissanayake will preside over the ceremony attended by Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Indigenous Medicine Deputy Minister Pandu Bandaranayake, Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijayalal de Silva, Matara District Parliamentarian Hemal Gunasekara and Additional Secretary to President Ranjith Wijetillaka, Local Council members and State officials said Ven. Kotapola Mangala Thera, Co-ordinating Officer, Pansalen Gamata project, Presidential Secretariat in a press release yesterday.

The release said the Pansalen Gamata project started at the Presidential Secretariat under the guidance of Ven. Bengamuwe Nalaka Thera has started a herbal garden project concurrent to the 'Divi Neguma' national programme.

The project has been named Pansalen Gamata herbal gardens project. Its pilot project will be launched in the Matara District in 15 Divisional Secretariat divisions. Five or six temples have been selected to spearhead this project, the release said.