The High Commissioner India, Santosh Jha, sought the blessings of the Mahanayaka Theros of Asgiriya and Malwatte chapters, the Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayaka Thero and Most Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayaka Thero respectively during a visit to Kandy on Thursday.
The High Commissioner underlined that Buddhism was central to age-old connect between the people of India and Sri Lanka and briefed the Mahanayakes, of various initiatives undertaken by Government of India to strengthen bilateral Buddhist ties.
He specifically mentioned that measures are being taken expeditiously to roll out the solar electrification of temples across the country through Indian government assistance.
He offered prayers at the Dalada Maligawa for the prosperity and well being of the people of the two countries as also stronger and deeper connections between them.
He also prayed for closer bilateral relations through further diversification in both scale and scope at the Kataragama Dewalaya.
He visited Hanthana Estate and took stock of the Indian Housing Project. While the Indian government has already built 50 houses in the Estate under the third phase, more housing units are being constructed in the next phase of the project.
Overall, the government of India has committed to building 14,000 new houses for plantation workers in the two phases of the project.
The High Commissioner inaugurated an Ayurveda camp, aimed at the physical well being of the plantation workers. He also distributed study materials and umbrellas to school going children in the Estate. He remarked that these are keeping in line with India’s firm commitment to the overall uplift of the plantation workers and the Indian origin Tamil community in particular.
It may be recalled that a multi-sectoral grant package to the tune of SLR 3 billion was announced by the Indian government during the visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India in July 2023.