-Minister Bimal Rathnayake
“The government is committed to realizing its policy of a ‘Prosperous Nation, Beautiful Life’. We are developing rural infrastructure to build beautiful villages and create beautiful lives. 70% of the country’s population comprises rural communities. This citizen-centric government prioritizes enriching their lives and making them beautiful.”
Bimal Rathnayake, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, and Leader of the Sri Lankan Parliament, expressed these sentiments while officiating the launch of the ‘National Rural Road Development Program’ recently (on June 21st).
“To rebuild a country that wasted 50 years, targeted development is needed”
Development work on the Kosgama South Kadugoda Pussalla Road in the Seethawaka Divisional Secretariat area, Avissawella electoral division, commenced under the Minister’s patronage. Sixty-five million rupees will be spent on developing this road. Concurrently, work on 57 rural road projects began today (June 21, 2025) at 57 locations across the island. The estimated cost for the entire project is 14,000 million rupees.
Further elaborating, the Minister stated:
“Previous governments largely wasted public tax money under the guise of development. Both theft and waste must be stopped. Waste is a crime, just like theft. Delays and procrastination in development work are also crimes. Therefore, the new government’s corruption-free program must proceed with public participation. Provide the necessary support to officials for village development, and contribute to the development process through public committees. ‘The Path to Renaissance’ is rural development. It must be implemented with transparency to achieve high returns.
“Following the President’s instructions, an additional 5,000 million rupees has been allocated for rural road development in the country. These funds will be spent transparently to enhance people’s lives through targeted development. The city of Avissawella will be developed into a fully-fledged city. In the future, a multi-modal transport hub will be established to improve facilities for the general public. I urge public officials and the general public to provide their full support to make the village development plan a success.”
Chandana Suriyarachchi, Member of Parliament for Colombo District and Chief Organizer for Avissawella from the National People’s Power, T. Paskaran, Chairman of the Road Development Authority, Wimal Kandambi, Director-General, along with other officials and a large number of public members, attended the event.
Suranga Lakmal
