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Maliban Biscuit provides free bus service

Maliban Biscuit Manufactories (Pvt) Ltd. launched their latest CSR initiative to provide a free bus service for school children from the Ratmalana area. The event was graced by Upali Kodikara, Minister of Transport for the Western Province, Piyadasa Marambage, CEO of the National Child Protection Authority and SSP K. Arsharathnam, Director of Traffic Administration and Road Safety at Police Headquarters.

Upali Kodikara, inaugurated the school bus service, which will commence at 6.15 a.m each morning from the Golumadama Junction on Galle Road up to Town Hall. The school bus will pass through Ratmalana, Mt Lavinia, Dehiwala, Wellawatte, Bagatalle Road, R A De Mel Mawatha, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Thummulla Junction, Thurstan Road, Nelum Pokuna Mawatha up to Town Hall and Lipton Roundabout.

Upali Kodikara, Minister of Transport (Western Province) inaugurating the free school bus service. SSP K. Arsharathnam, Director of Traffic Administration and Road Safety – Police Headquarters and Piyadasa Marambage, CEO of the National Child Protection Authority in picture.

School children from numerous schools along this bus route including Kothalawalapura Vidyalaya Ratmalana, St Thomas' College Mt Lavinia, Holy Family Convent, Dehiwala, Thurstan College, Royal College and Buddhist Lady's College will benefit from the free bus service. At 1.45 p.m the school bus will commence its return journey from Town Hall taking the same route back to Golumadama.

Speaking at the event Upali Kodikara, stated, "I appreciate this unique initiative taken by Maliban to enable school children to experience a safe trip to and from school free of charge. I hope this service will further strengthen with time, and as the Minister of Transport to the Western province I will do my utmost to help Maliban take this initiative forward."

"This is yet another innovative project by Maliban, which would be an invaluable service for school children, setting an example to other private companies. Most importantly it is implemented abiding by the standards of the National Child Protection Authority.

Therefore, I wish to extend my sincere appreciation on behalf of the National Child Protection Authority and hope that Maliban will find the strength to improve this service further," stated Piyadasa Marambage, CEO, National Child Protection Authority.

This initiative is yet another inclusion to their impressive repertoire of community services carried out by Maliban and furthermore, due to its unprecedented nature its uniqueness is highlighted. A breakthrough idea of D.L. Weerasooriya, Group CEO the project was initiated under the blessings of A.G.R. Samaraweera, Group Chairman and the Board of Directors of Maliban Biscuit Manufactories (Pvt) Ltd.

Bandula Perera, Group General Manager, HR and Administration - Maliban Biscuit Manufactories (Pvt) Ltd. stated,

"This free school bus service will actually benefit children from 21 schools. We have made notable efforts to recruit the best drivers for this service who have more than 30 years of service with the Ceylon Transport Board. This way, we have ensured the complete safety and comfort of the school children using this service."

Sony introduces thinnest 10X camera

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

Sony launched the world's thinnest 10X optical zoom camera, Cyber- Shot DSC- W690 alongside four new cameras from the W series at a launching ceremony held in Colombo last week.

Sony South East Asia Singapore Channel Marketing Representative Razali Yaacub speaking at the launch of Sony Cyber-Shot W series compact digital cameras to the local market. Picture by Sumanachandra Ariyawansa

The Cyber - Shot W series enable high quality imaging within easy reach, even for first time digital camera owners.

"With our new AA lens and host of other technological advances, Sony continues to revolutionize and deliver cutting edged digital camera technology and performance, brining slimmer designs, bigger zooms and unsurpassed image and movie quality to users who love taking pictures wherever they go,", Sony South East Asia Singapore Channel Marketing Representative Razali Yaacub said.

The proliferation of devices with camera functionality has seen a massive increase in the creation of a photo taking culture. While they certainly serve a very useful function, the experiences of capturing amazing photos and freezing life in time are best served through the use of dedicated digital still cameras similar to our new range of Cyber-Shot cameras, he said.

As an extra refinement, this Cyber-Shot series add four picture effect modes for easy 'in camera' creation of artistic images. It enhances photos with pop colour, top camera, partial colour and soft high key effects with no PC or editing software needed.

The Cyber-Shot DSC - W690 achieves excellent performance in a stunning slim body.

The steady shot image stabilization feature on the Cyber-shot ensures clearer hand held images with less blur. The optical steady shot now enhanced to combat camera shake even more effectively.

The new 360 sweep panorama on all models captures an all- round view of landscape, city scenes and more.

We expect the new range of Cyber-shot compact digital cameras to capture the market fast. These cameras will be available at Siedles Showrooms, Duty Free Shop and Siedles sales distributors islandwide, Yaacub said.

PC Pharma annual awards ceremony

PC Pharma PLC, the pharmaceuticals arm of PCH Holdings, held its annual staff awards ceremony at the Bentota Beach Hotel recently, celebrating the company's success in the competitive marketplace. The event was also an opportunity for the company to recognize and felicitate staff members who had performed exceptionally well during the past year and its long standing employees.

Members of the sales and marketing team who had achieved beyond expectations were commended and presented with honorary awards for their accomplishments.

Aneeshkhan, was recognized as the 'Star Medical Representative' for his exceptional achievements during the year and few other members won foreign tours for their outstanding performance.

"The main objective of hosting this event was to celebrate the outstanding achievements for the previous financial year and motivate our staff to perform better.

The company believes that its employees are the backbone of its entire operation and that the investments the company makes in the management of its Human Resource undoubtedly create an impact on our performance. Furthermore, with the successful outcomes witnessed at this year's event, the company expects to add more value next year," stated Dilshard Ikram, CEO of PC Pharma PLC.

Speaking about the event, S. H. M. Rishan, Chairman of PC Pharma and PCH Holdings stated, "The Company has done extremely well not just in the past year, but since inception, becoming one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in the country.

This event was primarily held to celebrate the exceptional work done by the staff of PC Pharma in the past year. In the previous year we entered the FMCG market, launching Celia - a range of Infant and maternal dairy products, and RED - an energy drink, that have performed very well and we appreciate and recognize the hard work put in by our staff."

Commenting further Dilshard Ikram said, "One growth area we're looking at is neutroceuticals that promote well being and healthy living. We intend to introduce new products such as vitamin supplements and food supplements that will provide remedy for hair loss, weight issues, etc... to the market and envisage better sales in the coming year."