A’pura all set for Poson celebrations

Mihintale Aloka Pooja under Lake House patronage for 51st consecutive time:

Nimal Wijesinghe, Anuradhapura Additional District group correspondent

The Anuradhapura Poson Religious Festive Season Steering Committee headed by Anuradhapura Government Agent Mahinda Seneviratne expects a crowd of around three million devotees in Anuradhapura and Mihintale during the Poson season for religious observances.

At a discussion at the Mihintale Divisional Secretariat recently, Mihintale Raja Maha Viharadhipathi Ven Walawahengunawewa Dhammarathana Nayake Thera praised the government’s initiative to clean the Mihintale sacred city and monument rehabilitation programme.

It was also revealed that Lake House was prepared to hold the Mihintale Aloka Pooja for the 51st consecutive occasion on June 22, 23 and 24 in collaboration with the Ceylon Electricity Board. Lake House will offer white clothes to 1,000 Dhamma schoolchildren observing Pansil on Poson Full Moon day at Mihintale in addition to offering white sarees and white clothes to 500 teachers observing sil.

Ven Dhammarathana Thera said for the first time in history, the historic event of placing the crest gem on the pinnacle of Sela Chetiya in the Mihintale sacred site would take place on June 20 prior to the dawn of Poson Full Moon day.

The Chuda Manikkaya (crest gem) to be placed on Sela Chetiya would he offered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Gangaramaya, Colombo to be taken to Mihintale on a motorcade.

Following the exhibition for devotees and one week pirith chanting from June 13 to 19, the crest gem will be placed on top of the pinnacle of Sela Chetiya.

Anuradhapura Government Agent Mahinda Seneviratne, Lake House Marketing Chief (Distribution) Sunil Sendanayake, Mihintale Divisional Secretary Ruwan Ekanayake, Senior DIG (NCP) Ranjith Padmasiri and heads of various departments and NGO representatives were present.