President Rajapaksa inaugurates island wide celebrations by launching Tree planting programme
Onlanka News – By Janaka Alahapperuma
(Pix by: Sudath Silva)
President Mahinda Rajapaksa inaugurated island wide celebrations to mark his second term of office and his birthday this morning on 15 November at Temple Trees. ‘Deyata Sevana’, a massive tree planting campaign was launched by the President to mark the occasion today at the auspicious time of 10.07am by planting a sapling of Kiripalu (Bachuanania Axillaris) and Sudu Handun trees.
First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa also participated in today’s tree planting ceremony which marked the planting of 1.1 million tree saplings in 11 minutes island wide. The Government of Sri Lanka has designated the week from 15th to 22nd November as the week of celebrations to mark President Rajapaksa’s 65th birthday which falls on 18th November and swearing in ceremony for his second term that begins on Friday 19th.
Addressing the ceremony the President noted that Sri Lanka always has environmental friendly rules throughout history. A programme of this nature is ideal to meet the challenges of global warming and it is important that the future generation of the country love and care the nation and the environment. He further said that Sri Lanka is leading all developed counties in protecting its nature and environment and providing to be a role model to the entire world by causing the least environmental pollution.
Venerable Maha Sanga, Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake, Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Namal Rajapaksa MP, Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President, Gamini Senarath, President’s Chief of staff, Indika Karunajeewa and a large number of dignitaries also participated in the ceremony.
Meanwhile, keeping to the auspicious time, Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne also joined in the Deyata Sevana tree planting ceremony by planting a special variety of mango plant at Visumpaya premises, his official residence. The Prime Minister said that a tree is second only to man and called the programme as an investment into the future. He further added that this kind of ceremonies serve to unite the nation and reflect its aspirations to reach a high slandered of progress and development.
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As I fly over Middle Eastern countries and Iran and Pakistans, I see vast stretches of barren land. But as I fly over Sri Lanka the scene below has changed. It is verdant green. SL is truly the Emerald Isle. It is so refreshing to the eye to behold, this vast stretches of forests and cultivated land, with splashes of red tiled roofs. As the plane lands, coconut palms nod to us and welcome us warmly, waving in the breeze.
Let us hold on to our precious primordial forests, like the Sinharaja, which is rich in bio-diversity and medicinal plants. Let us conserve, manage and grow our forests more. While other rain forests, such as the Amazon, are being decimated by greedy imperial West with their demand for timber, and for livestock breeding, let us do the opposite and conserve our precious rain forests with its precious medicinal plants and rare animals. It is our natinal heritage we must preserve for future generations and the whole world to enjoy.
I call on the MR government to pass stringent laws forbidding the clearing of forests. Corrupt politicians, police, government officials and businessmen who flout these laws, to clear forests for their selfish gain, should be punished with the full force of the law, no matter who they are.
At the same time let us grow more trees to enrich our land. Trees provide us with oxygen while breathing in our carbon dioxide. It is a symbiotic relationship with mother nature. We must not destroy this. Let us grow vast acres of teak, ebony, jak and other speciality trees for our timber industry, for the domestic market as well as for export. Let us have elephant corridors linking the forests through the land, for families of elephants to wander through from one end of the island to the other. Let us not block their paths with cultivations which cause confrontations. We have to respect their right to live and provide them space.
Tourists will flock to our land then and will also envy us, if we protect our flora and fauna and conserve our forests well. It will be another feather in our cap. SL will then be truly the wonder of Asia.