The eco-friendly new Officers’ Mess in the Yakkala Army-managed Ranaviru Apparels Industries Ltd premises, was vested in Officers this morning (29) by the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake who graced the ceremony as the Chief Guest at the invitation of Major General Prasad Samarasinghe, Chairman, Board of Management who is also the Chief of Staff in the Army.
The three-storied new Officers’ Mess, a long-felt need of the officers serving this fast growing apparel industry of the Army with 10 rooms, dining hall, sitting room, entertainment section, one room for a disable officer, cost Rs 3.2 million and has been constructed to be in harmony with the environment under a newly-designed ‘eco-friendly’ concept of an architect.
It was the Commander himself as the Chairman, Board of Management earlier on 22 December 2012, laid the cornerstone for construction of the same when he was holding the office of Chief of Staff before August 2013.
At the invitation of Brigadier E.M.E Wickremanayake, Commandant, Ranaviru Apparels, Yakkala, the Commander, amidst Seth Pirith chanting of the Maha Sangha, unveiled a plaque and entered the new building, together with several senior officers who were attending the opening ceremony.
The Chief Guest who was also the brainchild behind its conceptual notion and the realization of the project, afterwards inspected the entire complex in the company of senior officers, accompanying him while sharing his thoughts on the project.
The ceremony saw a few past Commanders of the Army, now in their retirement, have also been invited as distinguished guests since they too contributed to the conceptual birth of this complex during their tenures in the past. The invitation symbolized an appreciation of their contribution and an honour to the occasion.
On the same occasion, the Commander of the Army hailed the architect behind the construction of the environment-friendly building and awarded him with a memento as an appreciative gesture.
Minutes after the opening, the Chief Guest was invited to take a look at the fast nearing new swimming pool and the mini farm in the compound.
Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake shared a couple of views with the 4 Engineer Service Regiment troops attending to the construction as they did with the Yakkala Officers’ Mess, and encouraged them to complete it, meeting the set deadline.
In the year 1993, with the support of the Training Institute for Garments Industry, the project for training of disable soldiers was founded after the need to do so, was identified by the then Director of Rehabilitation, Brigadier (retd) H.I.K Fernando and implemented with the blessings of the then Commander of the Army.
The foundation-stone laying ceremony for construction of the Army’s first-ever establishment of this nature, Yakkala Ranaviru Apparels took place on March 27, 1996 in a 5 acre land, donated by the philanthropist, Mr David M. Peiris who later on also sold five more acres for a nominal value, considering the noble cause of the project.
With 25 machines, the production process, kicked off in August 1997 after 60 disable soldiers, interested in garment industry, were screened, mobilized and referred for further training, thanks to the patronage of the pioneering, Tri Star Apparel Exports of Mr Kumar Devapura and the State Training Institute for Garment Industry.
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