DistantNews
Support us
President Promises Farmers Better Lives, Launches Water Project
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka /Elections & Politics

President Promises Farmers Better Lives, Launches Water Project

From Lankadeepa · () Sinhala

Translated from Sinhala, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • The President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, promised farmers better lives and social value.
  • He announced measures including doubling fertilizer subsidies, providing record compensation for storm-damaged crops, and allocating the highest funds for purchasing paddy.
  • The president made these remarks while launching the second phase of the Anuradhapura North Water Supply Project, aimed at providing clean drinking water to 67,000 households to combat chronic kidney disease.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledged to significantly improve the lives, social standing, and dignity of farmers. Speaking at the launch of the second phase of the Anuradhapura North Water Supply Project, he highlighted the government's commitment to agricultural development and farmer welfare.

The government's aim is to take very good care of the farming community and ensure they have a better life, social value, and respect.

— President Anura Kumara DissanayakeSpeaking at the launch of the Anuradhapura North Water Supply Project's second phase.

Dissanayake detailed several key initiatives, including a doubling of fertilizer subsidies and the highest compensation ever offered for crops destroyed by Cyclone Sitra. He also noted the largest-ever allocation of funds for purchasing paddy and the recommencement of large-scale irrigation projects to ensure water availability for cultivation.

The government is fulfilling a significant amount of work for the farming community, including doubling the fertilizer subsidy, providing the highest compensation in history for farmlands destroyed by Cyclone Sitra, allocating the highest funds in history for purchasing paddy, and taking steps to supply the necessary water for cultivation by restarting work on large-scale irrigation projects.

— President Anura Kumara DissanayakeHighlighting government initiatives for farmers.

The water supply project itself aims to provide clean and safe drinking water to 67,000 families in the Padaviya, Kebithigollewa, Horowpothana, and Kahatagasdigiliya areas of Anuradhapura district. This initiative is a direct response to the chronic kidney disease prevalent in the region, which has been linked to a lack of clean drinking water since the 1990s.

The lack of clean drinking water has been identified as a major cause for the unrecognized kidney (CKD) disease spreading in these areas since the 1990s.

— President Anura Kumara DissanayakeExplaining the importance of the water supply project.

The president emphasized that this project transcends mere infrastructure development, asserting it is a crucial step in guaranteeing the people's right to life. The project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Sri Lankan government, implemented by the Ministry of Housing, Construction, and Water Supply, and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board.

Therefore, this project is not merely infrastructure development, but an affirmation of the people's right to life.

— President Anura Kumara DissanayakeDescribing the significance of the water project.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Lankadeepa in Sinhala. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog