Header

Sri Lanka Army

Defender of the Nation

Ground Preparations On For Monumental Anuradhapura 'Ranaviru Seya'

The eternal monument of veneration for the memory of fallen War Heroes, the ‘Ranaviru Seya’ (pagoda dedicated for  war heroes) at Anuradhapura, close to the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, is to be a reality soon as ground preparations got underway on Thursday (11) after the first sod was cut for its construction

Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, from the sidelines of his participation at a function to felicitate War Heroes Thursday (11) night, took time off Friday morning (12) to visit the new proposed pagoda (stupa) site and shared his views with the soldiers working with ground preparations.

The proposed ‘Ranaviru Seya’ of 257 ft high is to be completely designed by the State Engineering Corporation in consultation with the Department of Archaeology and its construction work has been entrusted to Corps of 9 Engineer Services Regiment in the Army. 

In response to a concept, mooted by His Excellency, the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa a few weeks ago directed to commence this monumental project in coordination with Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army, Major General (Retd) Palitha Fernando, Military Liaison Officer, Ministry of Defence and   Colonel Commandant of Corps of Engineer Services Regiment Major General E.M.M. Ambanpola and several other agencies.

This fitting tribute to our War Heroes is to be erected using the most modern construction techniques and state of the art.

On Thursday (11), ground preparations began at the auspicious minute after cutting the first  sod  by senior  Army officers including Major General G.D.H.K Gunarathne, Commander, Security Forces Wanni, Colonel A. Ariyarathna, Area Commander for Anuradhapura and several others.

Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, in the company of Major General Ambanpola  and several other senior officials Friday (12) morning saw for himself how the construction is to be erected shortly as projected and designed by the  State Engineering Corporation. Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya made inquiries into various aspects of the project during his stay and gave necessary instructions to the soldiers.

As the next leg of his day’s agenda, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya paid a visit to the ‘Abimansala’ holiday  resort work site in progress at Anuradhapura.

He also did not forget to call on several Nayake Theras in key Buddhist places of worship in Anuradhapura during his stay there. Ven Pallegama Hemarathana Nayaka Thera, Chief Incumbent, Ruwanweli Maha Seya, Ven Nugathenne Pangnanandha Thera,     Incumbent, Sri Jayanthi Viharaya and a few more monks blessed the Commander and the Army during those visits. The visiting Commander made offerings to the clergy and exchanged views with them on new roles that had been undertaken by the Army for development of the country before he left those places.