On the eve of the ceremonial opening of the new state-of-the-art vocational training institute, ‘Ranaviru Sampath Kendraya’ (Resource Centre for War Heroes) at Hendala, the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya made an inspection tour to the site Saturday (11) morning, accompanied by several senior officers in order to receive an update on its finishing touches.
This mega project of unprecedented magnitude, expected to be opened shortly in the old Leprosy Hospital complex with more than 13 buildings, is purely reserved for vocational training courses, meant for disable War Heroes under rehabilitation at different locations island-wide.
This new ‘Resource Centre’, an exclusive project, unheard perhaps in any of the armed forces in the world, is to provide hundreds of those disable War Heroes with various community-oriented vocations and other skilled labour projects, like motor mechanism, welding, lathe work, pottery, agriculture, technology, electronics, electric work, etc under the direct supervision of the Army Directorate of Rehabilitation, headed by Major General R.V Samaratunge, Director Rehabilitation.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya during his unannounced visit today to the construction site spoke to troops of the Army Engineer Service Regiment (ESR), busy giving final touches to the project and learnt more about different aspects of the renovation and the proposed gymnasium and the swimming pool, quite essential to the process of rehabilitation and therapeutic formalities.
The mega rehabilitation project saw its birth as a conceptual notion of Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence and Urban Development when he heard that this old Leprosy Hospital complex, housed in a huge extent of state land, was lying unattended and neglected due to absence of any more patients in the country.
Renovation and Reconstruction, being done at a cost of about Rs 35 million will at the initial stage provide training to some 300 disable War Heroes, to begin with and plans are afoot to open its doors to unemployed youngsters in the civil sector too in the future as the entire project eventually takes shape in a couple of months.
The new ‘Resource Centre’ is to be inaugurated on May (23) by Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa as one more commemorative project of the ongoing ‘Ranaviru’ commemorative month.
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