Army Begins Production of its own Furniture &;amp; Rejuvenates its Musical &;amp; Aesthetic Values, Shifting to a Spacious Location

          
Trying to bring the elegant craftsmanship, inherent among Army tradesmen to the fore, the Army is to venture on the production of their own furniture on a large scale, following a notion suggested by the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake after having assessed the colossal expenditure, incurred in the purchase of furniture to the Army on a regular basis.

The project saw its birth on Tuesday (29) at Panadura where the new carpentry workshop plus its showroom is located. The complex was ceremonially opened by its architect, Commander of the Army at the request of the Major General E.M.M Ambanpola, Colonel Commandant, Engineer Service Regiment (ESR). Soon after its inauguration, the Commander closely watched an assortment of furniture, wooden creations, designs, etc that have been already produced by those skilled craftsmen of the Army but have so far remained in various corners of island-wide Army formations without fetching any value or recognition.

The new carpentry workshop, equipped with state-of-the art machinery under its first phase is to resume manufacture of office furniture, beds, almirahs, cupboards, etc, needed to the Army and also for sale among Army personnel and the public, if excess stocks are available.

On the same day, taking another leap forward towards further strengthening aesthetic and musical values of Army personnel, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, Commander of the Army opened the new Headquarters complex for Army Band and Cultural Troupes at Thelawala, Ratmalana. The project to house this unit which has made great strides in the field of dancing and singing was initiated after the Commander several months ago saw for himself how difficult it was for the troupe members to do rehearsals and training while being confined to a small location at Maitland Crescent area in Colombo 7.

At that occasion, the Commander immediately asked responsible heads to find an alternative spacious place for the Army Band, away from the heart of Colombo and provide them with all facilities, including proper storages, instruments, rehearsing floors, etc. Thus the new location was found and immediately renovated and put to good use after preparing dancing floors, rehearsing stages, sound studios, videoing units, sound -proof halls, etc inside the three storied complex, thanks to expertise of ESR, commanded by Major General E.M.M Ambanpola and Army Directorate of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers headed by Major General T.N. Jayasuriya. 

The Commander praised ESR for their excellent work and congratulated them on the meticulous job done.

Major General M. Hathurusinghe, Adjutant General and several other senior officers were present at both locations.