‘President will help plantation community’ - Deputy minister

S Duraisamy - Maskeliya group corr

“Plantation workers were behind other parties but they had not received any benefits whatever. But today President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa are determined to help and assist the plantation community.

“They have commenced many development projects on estates. That is why Minister Basil Rajapaksa has allocated 100 million rupees for development of plantation areas,” said Muthu Sivalingam, Deputy Economic Development Minister and President of Ceylon Workers’ Congress addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony for a Cultural Hall, Dining Room and Kitchen and also for beautifying the Sri Shanmuganathar Swamy Kovil Cultural Hall in Maskeliya, last Sunday.

Sri Shanmuganathar Devastanam Secretary Karuppiah Pillai Krishnamoorthy presided over the meeting.

Deputy Minister Muthu Sivalingam further said that the plantation community must be grateful to the President and the Minister for their assistances and allocation of the nation’s development funds.

“There was a fear during the next ten years, the tea industry may not exist in the country.

“That is why the CWC representing the community urged the President and the Economic Development Minister to take over all estates and convert them into village areas. They could enjoy the fruits of lives of rural villagers.

“It is a fact that the plantation community people were born in Sri Lanka and live on estates. They did not migrate to India and have been living in Sri Lanka on estates for many decades.

“A protest by Indians, especially Tamil Nadu, has been going on but we do not encourage these.

We are Sri Lankans and do not even know the shores of India. We want to live in Sri Lanka peacefully with the other people.

Already at the request of the CWC, the government has shown willingness to absorb 3800 acres of tea lands for conversion into villages,” Sivalingam said.

“Minister Arumugam Thondaman is very keen that President Mahinda Rajapaksa approves the request for implementation. We are aware that a local election is going to be held in the Ratnapura District.

“There are many invitations to join the other political parties at the elections. There are 56,000 Tamil voters in the district. If contested alone one or two members may be selected as CWC members.

So, the CWC decided to contest the election without linking with other major political parties” Sivaligam said.

He said further that he had allocated a sum of Rupees 6.5 million for the second stage of development works for the dining hall and a kitchen for Sri Shanmuganathar Swamy Temple Kovil, in Maskeliya.

“It is a must that before the end of September 2012, the construction work has to be completed.

For this purpose the entire Trustee Board members must work hard.” Hindu Cultural Affairs Minister for the Central Province Anushiya Sivarajah, CPC Councillors, N Ram, G Kanagaraj, and Vellayan Dineshkumar, chairman of Ambegamuwa Pradeshiya Sabha also spoke.

S Sivasundaram, member Ambegamuwa Pradeshiya Sabha S Jeyakumar, President Maskeliya Trade Union and several others were present.