Harsha delighted as his agri project comes to life in Dambulla

A state-of-the-art agricultural warehouse complex with temperature and humidity control was officially opened in Dambulla yesterday (April 5), marking a major step forward in Sri Lanka’s post-harvest management.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake jointly declared open the facility, which has a capacity of 5,000 metric tons.

The project was originally launched during the Good Governance (Yahapalana) government under the guidance of then Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, Dr. Harsha de Silva.

Dr. de Silva, now an opposition Member of Parliament representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), shared his thoughts in a Facebook post:

“Truly happy about the opening of the Dambulla agricultural warehouse. It doesn’t matter if the name ‘Prabhashwara’ is changed. What’s important is that the work gets done.”

He described the occasion as a historic moment in his life, recalling how he initiated the project in collaboration with the then Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The complex was originally named “Prabhashwara – A New Turn in the Farmer’s Life” and was funded by the Government of India.

The facility includes six storage sections with different temperature and humidity levels, specifically designed to help farmers store surplus vegetables and fruits at affordable rates.

Dr. de Silva emphasized that the goal was to prevent waste caused by overproduction and the lack of proper storage, a long-standing issue he had tried to address since 2002 through earlier initiatives like the ‘Govignana’ market information program at the Dambulla Economic Centre.

Although the project was delayed due to the change in government in 2019, Dr. de Silva expressed hope that the current administration would use the business plan his team had prepared to make full use of the warehouse.

He also revealed that there were plans to expand the ‘Prabhashwara’ model to other parts of the country, with similar warehouses proposed for Keppetipola (Central Province), Jaffna (Northern Province), and Embilipitiya (Southern Province).

Dr. de Silva concluded his message with optimism: “May President Anura be able to make that a reality.”

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