Sri Lanka’s Tri-Forces to assist with paddy purchasing for Maha season

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed the Ministry of Defence to take steps to develop necessary infrastructure facilities and provide technical assistance and labor support from the Tri-Forces to repair warehouses belonging to the Paddy Marketing Board and Sathosa, in order to facilitate the purchasing of paddy in the upcoming Maha season.

Accordingly, a coordinating conference in this regard was held today (January 16) at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agricultural Research and Training Institute in Colombo, under the patronage of the Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation, Dr. Susil Ranasinghe.

During the meeting, the use of labor, technical expertise, and machinery from the Tri-Forces to carry out necessary renovation work on the warehouses was discussed.

The Ministry of Defence has agreed to provide assistance to complete the renovation work on the warehouses before the end of this month, prior to the commencement of paddy purchasing for the Maha season.

It was also agreed to provide the required security for the warehouse premises. These measures are part of the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ program.

The Paddy Marketing Board operates 209 warehouses across the island, while Sathosa has 12 warehouses. Officials also exchanged views on the shortcomings in those warehouses, the steps to be taken, and future plans.

Paddy Marketing Board officials, including Chairman Manjula Pinnalanda, Chief Executive Officer Professor A.L. Rajaguru, Regional Managers, and Director General of the Sri Lanka Army General Staff Branch Major General Dinesh Udugama, along with senior Tri-Forces officers and Defence Ministry officials, were present at the discussion.