Army Throws Its Weight Behind Making the Country Greener with Trees
Security Force Headquarters-West (SFHQ-West), initiating the project, \'Gasin Piri Ratak-Wipath Nethi Hetak\' (A Country Filled with Trees & A Tomorrow Without Natural Disasters), with the firm determination to prevent disasters through greenery, got underway at the Bellanwila-Boralesgamuwa walk path Monday (7) morning. \r\n\r\nThe project, headed by Major General Ubaya Medawala, Commander SFHQ-West on the instructions of the Commander of the Army saw Mr Christ Dharmakeerthi, Trustee, Haritha Capital Forum, Mr Nanda Kumara, Director, Western Province, Forest Conservation Department, Mr L. Kalukapuarachchi, Divisional Secretary to the Kesbawe Divisional Secretariat and a few senior officers, plant 100 Kumbuk saplings, along the cycle track of the walk path and inaugurated the campaign which will subsequently cover the coastal belt from Matara to Puttalam as an attempt to make the public aware of the importance of environmental conservation. \r\n\r\nVen Boralesgamuwe Pemarathana Thero of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya delivered a brief oration (Anusasana) and highlighted the importance of the project before the invitees joined the tree planting programme. \r\n\r\nAs a national initiative of the SFHQ-West, the programme is expected to plant tree saplings in 287 selected state land slots, covering Southern, Western, Sabaragamuwa and Wayamba (North Central) provinces under this project. Prioritized attention would be focused on the coastal belt which remains badly affected due to coastal erosion. \r\n\r\nThe inaugural ceremony on Monday (7), held with the blessings of the Commander of the Army, was attended by a large gathering of Army officers who are working as coordinators of the project, aimed at reducing environmental pollution, deforestation and soil erosion in respective areas.\r\n \r\nThe Coast Conservation Department, Coastal Resources Department, Forest Conservation Department, ecologists and environmentalists are among the state agencies which have come forward to assist the Army-initiated project.\r\n
