Commander Hands Over Keys of New House Built for Fallen War Hero’s Parents

Sensitive to the financial predicament a War Hero’s parents were undergoing following the death of their beloved son during the humanitarian operations, Lieutenant General Crisanthe De Silva, Commander of the Army, took immediate steps to get them a new house in a plot of land, bought by the Army exclusively for this purpose.

Parents of late Corporal M.P Lakmal of Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) who laid his life in Dharmapuram, Kilinochchi on 15 January 2009 during the fight against terrorism, were compelled to reside in a land, adjacent to the Colombo North Medical Faculty at Ragama, although they were not the legal owners.

However, financial constraints and a serious sickness in the family worsened their plight, which was subsequently brought to the notice of the Commander of the Army by another party, prompting Lieutenant General De Silva to take up the issue with the Directorate of Veteran Affairs and the Directorate of Rehabilitation.

Lieutenant General Crisanthe De Silva afterwards instructed Brigadier N.A.P.C Napagoda, Director Veterans’ Affairs and Brigadier S.K Tiruwanakarisu, Director Rehabilitation to attend to their need within 6 months and coordinate with the deceased’s Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment for completion of the project, construction of a new house in a new plot of land.

After the initial monetary allocation for the project was accordingly made through the Commander’s funds, fellow-troops of the SLSR, Directorate of Veteran Affairs, Directorate of Rehabilitation and a few donors raised necessary resources and bought a piece of land from Ragama area using their funds and built a new house for the affected family.

On Wednesday (26), the Commander on his way back after visiting Ragama Ranaviru Sevana inmates went directly to Ragama and handed over the keys of the new house to the parents of the fallen War Hero, along with the title deed of the new land. The house has cost Rs 2 million for the Army and the land value stood at Rs 1.8 million.

During the brief ceremony, the late War Hero’s parents, Mr M Ariyawansa and Mrs T Nandani De Silva symbolically received the keys from the Chief Guest of the day, Commander of the Army and thanked the Army profusely for the great meritorious deed.