Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said the progress in providing housing, education, health and infrastructure facilities to the upcountry Tamil community is very slow and it needs to be speeded up. Pointing out that expedited hastily.
He said this at the function to launch a new logo of the community to mark the 200th anniversary of the arrival of plantation workers from India to the upcountry in Sri Lanka. The function was held at the Ministry of Water Supply & Estate Infrastructure Development at Battaramulla today (October 5).
He recalled that the leftist leaders Dr N M Perera, Phillip Gunawardena, Colvin R de Silva and Edmond Samarakkody were chased away by the European plantation owners when the attempted to form a trade union to protect the rights of plantation workers decades ago. He also recalled the milestones of the struggle such as Muloya protest and the expulsion attempt European planter Bresgradle by the Colonial rulers when he was declared persona non-grata for joining the movement for workers’ rights.
The Prime Minister said that Indian origin community leaders from Saumyamurthi Thandaman and others succeeded in winning many rights for the workers over the years and new generation leaders like Jeevan Thondaman and Senthil Thondaman work to ensure rights of the upcountry community in active cooperation with the government.
Ministers Jeevan Thondaman and State Minister Sanath Nishantha, MPs Vadiwel Suresh, Governor Senthial Thonaman, Counsellor of Indian High Commission Eldos Mathews, Secretary to Minister of Water Supply & Estate Infrastructure Development and officials and trade union leaders attended the meeting.
Prime Ministe’s Media