President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that pilgrims to Madhu will be provided with all necessary facilities to engage in their pilgrimage activities without any hindrance.
Addressing the Mannar District Development Committee meeting held at the Mannar District Secretariat yesterday (16), he emphasised that it is unfair to arrest and fine pilgrims on their way to sacred sites like Madhu Church and Sri Pada.
He instructed that if pilgrims are arrested in the future, the President’s Office should be informed immediately.
During the meeting, the President directed the Sri Lanka Army to clean and develop both sides of the existing Madhu Road for the convenience of the pilgrims visiting Madhu Church.
He also coordinated with a representative of the Mannar Bishop, the Department of Forest Conservation, the Road Development Authority, and the Sri Lanka Police to ensure these tasks are completed before the upcoming annual festival of the church of Our Lady of Madhu.
Member of Parliament Rishad Bathiudeen commended the President for visiting Mannar and providing solutions to many of the problems. "Your allocation of DDC funds to me and the TNA MPs for the development of the Mannar District has been greatly helpful to us. On behalf of the people of Mannar and all MPs, I extend my heartfelt thanks to you, Mr. President," the lawmaker said.
"There are also certain issues that can be resolved expeditiously, and several projects initiated by the Good Governance regime that were purposefully stopped, could have been completed. Furthermore, Mannar did not receive any development funds in the past few years; however, this year, substantial funds have been allocated for Mannar’s development. This allocation, under your leadership, is a tremendous source of strength for the people. Therefore, Mr. President, I express my gratitude to you for addressing our issues and for providing solutions to the roadblock issue concerning the Madhu Church. We are very grateful to you, Mr. President.' he added.
