Army Ventures into Sale of Vegetables at Cost Price for Consumers

Sri Lanka Army with the sole intention of providing consumers with fresh vegetables at unit cost price has embarked on a new project of distributing directly-purchased vegetables among the public sans any intermediaries in the market.

This novel non-profit making scheme, on the directions of HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Secretary Defence Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa commenced Friday (7) on the instructions of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya who has already thrown the Army’s full weight behind the government’s ‘Api Wawamu-Rata Nagamu’ national campaign.

Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya implemented the programme for purchase of vegetables sans any black marketers after directing all the Army installations to pursue the project to bring relief to consumers, affected as a result of spiralling costs of vegetable varieties.

Under this new scheme, the Army will sell vegetables that are directly bought from farmers who are close to different Army formations across the country. To begin with, the Army beginning today (7) will sell vegetables at 14 public places covering urban areas such as the Maligawatta Housing Scheme, Fort Railway Station, Campbell Park, Hyde Park, Muttiah Road, Ja-Ela, Katunayake, Kaduwela, Homagama, Rajagiriya, Borella, Torrington Square, Ekala and Ratmalana. Some of those areas will continue to have permanent outlets while Army mobile service is to sell vegetables at other locations.

The Army throughout their units island-wide will buy vegetables directly without intervention of any intermediaries or brokers and add the Army’s cost of transport and packing before the vegetables are sold at those places. It is believed this non-profit making arrangement will give the maximum benefit to the customers since the project involves no labour cost or any other impediments.     

On directions given by the Commander of the Army, all Army camps around the country are to join this new public venture with the objective of relieving the common masses of the escalating prices of vegetables in the market. The programme is to be expanded further, taking stock of the feedback of the initial project.