Attaching greater significance to the eternal welfare concerns of North West-resident dependant Army War Heroes, the new wellness resort, `Abimansala - 3' at Pangolla, Kurunegala is set to be opened ceremonially on April 25, 2014, said Major General Mano Perera, Director General Rehabilitation during a media briefing at the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME) conference hall on Thursday (17).
About 50-55 dependent War Heroes from the North Western Province will receive rehabilitation and therapeutic needs in this state-of-the-art wellness resort which came about as a conceptual motion of HE the President and Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence and Urban Development.
With close supervision of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, the project was brought to successful completion through the ‘Brave Hearts’ project of the Army Seva Vanitha Unit (ASVU), chaired by Mrs Damayanthi Ratnayake.
The conceptual notion of the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as envisaged in the Mahinda Chinthana Policy document under 'protective homes' (Rekawarana Niwasa), saw its fruition with the opening of the three maiden sanatorium-type lifetime care centres, Attidiya Mihindu Seth Medura', Anuradhapura ‘Abimansala’ and Kamburupitiya ‘Abimansala’. In all these centres of solace, a few more than 150 dependent War Heroes are well cared, nurtured, and comfortably accommodated for lifelong well-being, rehabilitation, rest and recreation.
This visionary concept was carried further forward to the North Western Province, initiating the Army's third construction of this nature at Pangolla, Kurunegala by the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, after Land Reforms Commission, in response to the Army request, allocated the land for this noble purpose, rich with serene natural surroundings, bio-diversity and waterways in April last year.
With the unfailing support of the 'Brave Hearts' fund-raising project of the ASVU, spearheaded by Mrs Damayanthi Ratnayake, President, ASVU, the construction of the whole project, has so far received a tremendous boost. The project was originally estimated to cost about Rs 390 million.
This state-of-the-art newest 'Abimansala - 3 complex, is equipped with 8 Villas, 3 Cottages, hydrotherapy and physiotherapy facilities, medical ward, swimming pool, gymnasium, medical laboratory, dining hall, kitchen, indigenous medicine unit, residential quarters for staff, etc, which are not on hand in their respective residential areas of those dependent ones, is to be manned round the clock by a medical team during the rest of their lives.
To begin with, North Western Province-based 50-55 disable War Heroes on wheelchairs and totally handicapped War Heroes who need 24 hour vigil, are to be accommodated in the new Abimansala - 3 after proper medical screening and categorization, is conducted by the Army Medical Advisor and medical authorities to ensure prioritized care for the most deserving, the Media briefing told.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's sustained concern and interest in the welfare of disabled servicemen in the aftermath of the war, continued to be a beacon of hope to all terminally disable 297 dependent War Heroes, scattered across the country, but lack of proper and continuous therapeutic care and more importantly, domestic facilities for them at their homes, posed a major setback to their continuing well-being. The subsequent birth of the MoD-initiated Attidiya `Mihindu Seth Medura', now fully functional with 50 dependent War Heroes as well as the opening of the Anuradhapura ‘Abimansala’, Kamburupitiya `Abimansala - 2' and now, the new Pangolla ‘Abimansala – 3’, has brought a sigh of relief to all those physically handicapped servicemen who had selflessly sacrificed all their physical organs, legs and limbs to make a better tomorrow for all Sri Lankans.
Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera, Director Media was also present at the occasion.
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