26th September 2022 10:16:20 Hours
The auspicious harvesting of paddy, sown in a stretch of 12 acres of fields near the Sri Jayawardenepura Army Headquarters occurred on 16th September 2022 during a ceremony, where the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, graced as the Chief Guest for the ‘Ran Aswanu Neleeme Mangallaya’. The Army Headquarters several months ago under the Army-initiated ‘Thuru Mithuru-Nawa Ratak’ crop cultivation drive ploughed those unattended fields and marshy lands before they were converted to be suitable for paddy cultivation during the past ‘Maha’ season. The day’s ‘Ran Aswanu Neleeme Mangallaya’ the harvesting arrangement began with traditional religious rites and rituals before a set of soldiers who sowed seed paddy several months ago stepped in the fields, carrying sickles along with the day’s Chief Guest, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage. The entire project, carried out with the active participation of troops of the Sri Lanka Army Corps of Agriculture and Livestock (SLACAL) with the close supervision of Director General Financial Management (DGFM) of the Army and Colonel Commandant of Sri Lanka Army Corps of Agriculture and Livestock Major General WBSM Abeysekera RSP USP on the guidelines given by Director Agriculture and Livestock Brigadier Arosha Rajapaksha RSP of the Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock and its respective Commanding Officer 2(V) SLACAL Major WAND Jayasundara VIR.