President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided to go grassroots to give swift solutions to public grievances at the village level.   

He hopes to witness himself the difficulties suffered by fellow citizens first hand and to listen to them in order to relieve them of their burdens with proper understanding.

The Haldummulle Divisional Secretariat Division of the Badulla district has been selected for the first inspection tour. The public gathering will be held at Kumarathenna Vidyalaya, 100-acre village, Haputale on this Friday (25) beginning at 10.00 a.m.   

While touring the country during the Presidential and General Election campaigns, President Rajapaksa has come to realize that people in remote areas suffer a great deal due to a number of long-drawn unresolved economic and social problems.

Issues pertaining to livelihood, shortage of lands and houses, unavailability of undisputed deeds for lands, inadequate health and transportation facilities, shortages in school and other educational issues, inaccessibility to drinking and farming water, elephant intrusions, difficulty in selling their products were some of the major difficulties identified.

The inefficient and lethargic conduct of the public institutions which are entrusted with the task of identifying and solving the issues of the rural communities is another prominent problem.

The President’s inspections visits to the villages are organized giving priority to the people. The expenditures relating to these tours will be kept at minimum possible levels. Officials from Colombo will not accompany him. When solving the issues public officials in the respective area will be involved.  People are requested to apprise of the President their grievances at these public meetings. 

The objective of President Rajapaksa is to provide solutions for public issues on the spot in every possible circumstance. The issues which will take time to solve will be noted down for future references. 

The selected Haldummulle Divisional Secretariat has 2 Grama Seva Divisions where 222 families reside. Their main livelihoods are paddy, black pepper, Cinnamon and Chena cultivation. There are only 17 students receiving education at Kumarathenna Vidyalaya; the location of the public gathering.

-PMD