“Deyata Sevana,” the national tree planting campaign, spearheaded to coincide with His Excellency, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s birthday was inaugurated at the auspicious time of 09.01 a.m.Tuesday (15) at Pelawatte, Battaramulla, close to Parliament on Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship road.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa gracing the inaugural ceremony as the Chief Guest, accompanied by a large gathering of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Secretaries, Commander of the Army, Inspector General of the Police and invitees, added a new significance to the whole concept of tree planting by declaring a 700-acre plot of land near Parliament as the ‘Green Garden,’ following an initiative taken jointly by Ministry of Environment and the Presidential Secretariat.
Symbolizing the start of the national campaign, President Rajapaksa planted a ‘Naa’ sapling in the designated ‘Green Garden’ area and offered leadership to the island-wide tree planting programme. A brief address by President Rajapaksa to the occasion culminated the inaugural ceremony. This year, ‘Deyata Sevana’ programme expects to plant 1.1 million trees. In November 15, 2010, a similar campaign planted 1.1 million trees in 11 minutes and the Army’s contribution in the same year exceeded more than half a lakh.
Sri Lanka Army, throwing its full weight behind the national project this year too launched a separate simultaneous tree planting drive, enveloping all field formations across the country, on the instructions of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya.
The main Army ceremony in this connection, was held this morning (15) at Panagoda Sri Bodhirajaramaya (Army Temple) where ‘Naa’ saplings were planted in the premises to synchronize with the national ceremony taking place at Battaramulla.
Lieutenant General Jayasuriya, taking an exceptional interest in the national cause appointed separate senior officers to coordinate the Army tree planting programme, through which a total of 54,209 saplings of coconut, mee, kumbuk, margosa, teak, bamboo, guava, king coconut, mango, jak, lemon, cashew, kottamba, mahogany, orange, wood-apple, pihimbiya, ehela, halmilla, mara, ebony, domba, nedun, kapu, hora, naa, kong, milla, weera, arecanut, palmyrah, palu, avocado, breadfruit, tamarind, beli, kithul, bulu, nelli, madatiya, rathkaravu, gammalu, velan, kobonila, kolong, mekumbuk, pomegranate, koorimara, jambu and several other species of herbal plants, were planted across the country in all the regimental headquarters premises and field formations on Tuesday (15).
President Mahinda Rajapaksa gracing the inaugural ceremony as the Chief Guest, accompanied by a large gathering of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Secretaries, Commander of the Army, Inspector General of the Police and invitees, added a new significance to the whole concept of tree planting by declaring a 700-acre plot of land near Parliament as the ‘Green Garden,’ following an initiative taken jointly by Ministry of Environment and the Presidential Secretariat.
Symbolizing the start of the national campaign, President Rajapaksa planted a ‘Naa’ sapling in the designated ‘Green Garden’ area and offered leadership to the island-wide tree planting programme. A brief address by President Rajapaksa to the occasion culminated the inaugural ceremony. This year, ‘Deyata Sevana’ programme expects to plant 1.1 million trees. In November 15, 2010, a similar campaign planted 1.1 million trees in 11 minutes and the Army’s contribution in the same year exceeded more than half a lakh.
Sri Lanka Army, throwing its full weight behind the national project this year too launched a separate simultaneous tree planting drive, enveloping all field formations across the country, on the instructions of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya.
The main Army ceremony in this connection, was held this morning (15) at Panagoda Sri Bodhirajaramaya (Army Temple) where ‘Naa’ saplings were planted in the premises to synchronize with the national ceremony taking place at Battaramulla.
Lieutenant General Jayasuriya, taking an exceptional interest in the national cause appointed separate senior officers to coordinate the Army tree planting programme, through which a total of 54,209 saplings of coconut, mee, kumbuk, margosa, teak, bamboo, guava, king coconut, mango, jak, lemon, cashew, kottamba, mahogany, orange, wood-apple, pihimbiya, ehela, halmilla, mara, ebony, domba, nedun, kapu, hora, naa, kong, milla, weera, arecanut, palmyrah, palu, avocado, breadfruit, tamarind, beli, kithul, bulu, nelli, madatiya, rathkaravu, gammalu, velan, kobonila, kolong, mekumbuk, pomegranate, koorimara, jambu and several other species of herbal plants, were planted across the country in all the regimental headquarters premises and field formations on Tuesday (15).
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