09th August 2022 20:48:09 Hours
Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Commander of the Army during an unannounced visit to the Panagoda Army Cantonment and the Army Seva Vanitha-run Sunflower Village at Mulleriyawa on Sunday (7) during lunch break took all Officers and Other Ranks on duty by surprise as the Army Chief with the intention of having first-hand experience walked into several kitchen units where meals are prepared, cooked and also into the dining halls for women soldiers.
Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage at first visited the Army Seva Vanitha-managed Sunflower Village, together with Mrs Janaki Liyanage, President, Army Seva Vanitha Unit at the request of the Seva Vanitha Unit and witnessed its multifunctional aspects. The Sunflower Village, designed to provide a new model of a sustainable community village, is used for diverse welfare projects of different nature, inclusive of 'yoghurt' production unit, nursery and crop cultivation, etc, most of which are managed by the Army Seva Vanitha Unit. Next, the Army Chief made a bee-line to the Panagoda Army Cantonment.
The visiting Army Chief was joined by Brigadier Sajith Liyanage, Director, Information Technology, Colonel Sasanka Perera, Center Commandant, Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps, and a few casually-dressed senior officers, no sooner than Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage’s presence, was communicated to them.
During the visit, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage closely observed utensils being used to prepare meals and exchanged views with the chefs and Other Ranks inquiring into the quality of food varieties and the content of calories, etc. He also made a point to talk to a section of Army female soldiers partaking of their meals during lunchtime at the Mess with a view to receiving feedback at ground level.
During this surprise visit, the Army Chief also visited the accommodation area of the Other Ranks. Subsequently, he also collected firsthand information by visiting the Mess of Other Ranks of the Regimental Centre of the Sri Lanka Signal Corps and the Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps Regimental Centre. He freely mingled with them and queried about the quality of meals and other concerns.
Brigadier Sajith Liyanage, Director, Information Technology, Colonel Sasanka Pepera, Center Commandant, Sri Lanka Army General Service Corps Regimental Centre, and several Senior Officers at the Army HQ joined the Army Chief's visit to the Panagoda Army Cantonment.
