Minister likens govt to Kapruka
Ishara Mudugamuwa
The government is like a Kapruka (Celestial Magical Tree) that
delivers all needs of the people, said Coconut Development and Janatha
Estates Development Minister Jagath Pushpakumara.
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He was speaking at a ceremony to launch Kapruka, a trilingual
newspaper supplement published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon
Limited (ANCL) yesterday.
"When Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected President, the country was on
fire. Today the country is peaceful and rapidly developing. We can
freely travel from the North to South and South to North. There is a
massive development drive in the country. Many Sri Lankans don't have a
clear idea about the country's development activities. The media have to
play a vital role in making the public aware of the country's
development activities," the minister said.
He said the ANCL founded by D R Wijewardena, renders a great service
to Sri Lankans by enhancing their knowledge.
The ministry selected the ANCL as the best messenger to send the
messages of the ministry's development activities to Sri Lankans.
"The Coconut Development and Janatha Estates Development Ministry
achieved a great success in less than two years, he said.
"When the ministry was established, the country's coconut industry
was threatened due to various diseases. The prices of coconuts and
coconut husks were high. We were able to bring down the prices and
control diseases.
"The country's coconut production and the extent of coconut lands
have increased," he said.
The domestic culinary consumption absorbs 70- 82 percent of the
national coconut production, he said.
The ministry has a responsibility to improve the country's coconut
industry, Pushpakumara said. The ministry has taken measures to increase
the coconut production under various programes, such as, Kapruka
Purawara and Kaprukai-Sipnenai. The ministry has also taken measures to
develop coconut cultivation to increase the annual coconut production to
4,000 million by 2016.
Editorial Director Seelarathna Senarath also spoke.
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