SRI LANKA’S FUTURE LIES BEYOND LOCAL PROGRESS

The government is investing its time and money in northern development in a way that no previous government has in a long while.

- By Dr Jehan Perera

The topmost leaders of the government, no less, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake, have been spending a great deal of their time and effort in the north. During their visits, they meet face to face with people from different walks of life and launch new development projects that will benefit the people. These face-to-face engagements signify not only physical connectivity but the rebuilding of trust between the government and the people of this once war-torn area of the country. Last week, Minister Rathnayake was in Jaffna to launch the widening of the access road to the Kurikadduwan Jetty, which is the launching point of ferries (boats) that take passengers to the small islands off Jaffna.

Minister Rathnayake announced that the development of the access road to the Kurikadduwan Jetty has officially begun, marking a major step forward in improving connectivity to the islands off the Jaffna peninsula. The most significant of these islands is undoubtedly Nainativu, which is popularly known today as Nagadipa. Tradition has it that Nagadipa was one of the three sites that Lord Buddha visited in Sri Lanka during his sojourn in this world, which makes it one of the most sacred religious sites for Buddhists. Thousands of pilgrims from the rest of the country visit Nagadipa every day, with the numbers soaring on the long weekends. The improvement of the access road from Jaffna to Kurikadduwan will help to save the time of these pilgrims. Such promotion of local-level tourism can be the seed of revival. Speaking at the event in Jaffna, Minister Ratnayake emphasised that this development will also greatly ease transportation difficulties faced by residents and officials on the surrounding islands, including teachers and government employees who rely on boats for daily travel.