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Japan to extend its support to humanitarian demining activities in Northern Province
Ambassador of Japan – Mr. Mizukoshi Hideaki, today (Aug. 22) signed the grant contracts of two demining projects under the scheme of “Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP)”, with Major Gen. (retd) Mr. Sumathi Ranjan Balasuriya, Director & Field Reporting Officer of the Skavita Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Project (SHARP) and Mr. Ananda Chandrasiri, Director & Program Manager of the Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH).
The Government of Japan has provided a total sum of US$ 1,007,194 (approx. Rs. 300 million) for these two projects with SHARP and the DASH to extend its support for humanitarian demining activities in the Northern province of Sri Lanka. Japan has been a major donor in demining activities in Sri Lanka since 2002, and the total amount of assistance exceeds USD 46 million.
It is expected that these projects by SHARP and DASH will together contribute to resettlement and livelihood support for a total of 6,304 beneficiaries in the Northern province.
The development of the conflict-affected areas is one of the priority areas of Japan’s official development assistance policy to Sri Lanka.
Ambassador Mizukoshi strongly reiterated that the Government of Japan had committed itself in its role as a leading donor in demining activities and would continue to provide the necessary support to achieve “Mine-Impact-Free Sri Lanka.”
Commenting on the provision of this grant, Mr. Sumathi Ranjan Balasuriya, Director & Field Reporting Officer of SHARP, stated;
“SHARP is most grateful to and deeply appreciative of the Japanese Embassy for the trust and confidence placed in SHARP since the commencement of its demining operations in 2016 to date.
As of July 2024, in support of grant assistance from the Government of Japan, SHARP has cleared a total of 2,846,650㎡ and recovered 11,889 anti-personnel mines, 169 anti-tank mines, 4,666 Unexploded Ordnance and over 57,773 Small Arms Ammunition with over 3,318 families directly and indirectly benefitted. Japan’s assistance accounts for over 90% of the total cleared lands by SHARP.
SHARP will continue to carry out our operations to the best of our ability diligently, efficiently and effectively, fully co-operating with the Embassy of Japan and all other agencies to completely justify the funds provided and fulfil the desires of our sponsors.
The heartfelt gratitude and thanks from all members of SHARP is conveyed to all the people of Japan, for their unstinting support for SHARP, and more so ever for the Embassy of Japan being in the forefront of demining activities in Sri Lanka and their continuous concern, cooperation and assistance for the well-being of the people of Sri Lanka.”Mr. Ananda Chandrasiri, Director & Program Manager of DASH, stated;
“It has been a precious assistance extended by Japan to Sri Lanka throughout their cohesive friendship over 7 decades. Japan has been a major supporter to the national mine action program of Sri Lanka from its inception in 2002, and it was with the funding assistance of Japan our organization DASH, commenced its operations in 2010. We are very grateful to Japan and her people.
As of August 2024, in support of grant assistance from the Government of Japan, DASH has cleared a total of 7,546,161㎡ and recovered 55,907 anti-personnel mines, 113 anti-tank mines, 14,073 Unexploded Ordnance and over 77,004 Small Arms Ammunition with directly and indirectly 110,842 people benefitted.
A lesser-known tragedy that resulted from the 26-year protracted internal conflict of Sri Lanka from 1983 has been landmine and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) contamination in the northern areas. Although a large part of it has been cleared by now, it will take a few more years to make Sri Lanka mine and ERW-free. The clearance undertaken by the Japan-funded DASH project has strongly contributed to re-establish the safety and sustainable economy for the resettled people and infrastructure development of their areas”.
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Ex-Chief Parliamentary Interpreter & retired Parliamentary Interpreters felicitated (Pics)
A felicitation ceremony was held on June 26 at the Parliament premises to honor Mr. K. Rahulan, former Chief Parliamentary Interpreter of Parliament, and five recently retired Parliamentary Interpreters, in recognition of their exceptional service to the field of parliamentary interpretation.
This ceremony, held under the patronage of the Secretary General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, was organized by the Parliamentary Interpretation Division under the Department of Legislative Services.
On this occasion, the highest honorary award that is bestowed only once in a lifetime was presented to Mr. M.K. Rahulan, former Director of Legislative Services and former Chief Parliamentary Interpreter of Parliament, by the Secretary General, in recognition of his distinguished service over a period of more than three decades in parliamentary service.Moreover, gifts of appreciation were presented to the following recently retired Deputy Chief Parliamentary Interpreters and Senior Parliamentary Interpreters: Mr. K.M. Christopher, Mr. I.D.L. Rathnaseeli, Mr. S.R.M. Nizam, Mr. H.V.S. Heendeniya, and Mr. Sunil Wijesingha.
Addressing the occasion, the Secretary General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, stated that former Chief Parliamentary Interpreter Mr. K. Rahulan has left an indelible mark in the history of parliamentary interpretation in Sri Lanka. She also extended special appreciation to the other honorees for their decades of dedicated service to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
The retired Parliamentary Interpreters who addressed at the event reflected on the meaningful as well as challenging experiences they encountered during their professional lives in Parliament.Assistant Secretary General of Parliament Mr. Hansa Abeyrathne, Director (Legislative Services), Acting Director of Communications Mr. M. Jayalath Perera, Chief Parliamentary Interpreter Mr. C.J. Karunaratne, along with several department heads and staff members, also participated in this event.
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Navy rescues Indian fishermen from capsized boat off Talaimannar (Pics)
The Sri Lanka Navy has rescued 04 Indian fishermen aboard an Indian fishing boat capsized in the Sri Lankan waters off Talaimannar on June 25.
Upon receiving the distress alert, a team of the Special Boat Squadron stationed at SLNS Thammanna, under the North Central Naval Command swiftly launched a search and rescue operation. During the rescue mission, the naval personnel located the overturned Indian boat, capsized after being caught in rough seas north of Sand Dune VII, and safely rescued all four fishermen.
The rescued individuals, identified as residents of Rameswaram, India, were brought ashore by the Navy and provided with necessary assistance.
The fisherman in good health condition were subsequently handed over to the Talaimannar Police for onward action. The Sri Lanka Navy remains vigilant in assisting distressed maritime and fishing communities within Sri Lankan waters, reaffirming its commitment to maritime safety and humanitarian efforts.
(Pics : navy.lk)
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A/L top achievers in North, felicitated (Pics)
Three hundred students from the Northern Province who excelled in all subject streams of the 2023 G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) Examination will each receive a grant of Rs. 100,000 from the President’s Fund.
As part of a newly launched initiative to honour high-performing students at the district level for the 2023/2024 G.C.E. A/L Examination, the President’s Fund hosted an award ceremony this morning (22) at the Iranamadu Nelum Piyasa Auditorium in the Northern Province.
During the event, 300 students from the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya, specifically 60 students per district, with the top 10 students from each subject stream, were recognised and presented with financial awards for their outstanding academic performance. The President’s Fund has allocated a total of Rs. 30 million for this initiative, which is expected to be extended to all districts in the future.
Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the President, addressed the gathering and noted that following the formation of the new government, the President’s Fund has been restructured and expanded under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Disanayaka. He emphasised that the Fund now operates with increased transparency, correcting past irregularities to ensure benefits are directed to the truly deserving. Dr. Kumanayake also mentioned ongoing efforts to digitise the Fund and decentralise its services to improve accessibility and efficiency.
He further highlighted that education is the key to a successful life and urged the students to take full advantage of the support provided, pursue academic excellence, become responsible citizens and contribute positively to the country’s development.
Also addressing the event were Speaker (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne and Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar.
A vote of thanks was delivered by Abhishek, a student from Jaffna Hindu College, who expressed heartfelt appreciation to the President and the President’s Fund. He described the programme as a valuable opportunity for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue higher education and achieve their goals.
In attendance at the ceremony were Northern Province Governor Nagalingam Vethanayahan, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Development Upali Samarasinghe, Members of Parliament K. Ilankumaran, Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy and M. Jagadeeswaran, along with other public representatives. Also present were Mr. Roshan Gamage, Senior Additional Secretary to the President and Secretary of the President’s Fund, senior officials from the Fund, government officers, heads of security forces, parents and students.
(President’s Media Division)
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