By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka is to devise a two-year long-term comprehensive development plan for the Batticaloa District soon ,says ]Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena adding that steps will be taken immediately to start the process.
Gunawardena emphasized that necessary measures will be taken to prepare the relevant development plan aiming at various sectors including agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
He urged all the communities as well as public servants to extend fullest cooperation for speedy implementation of the development plan.
Plans are underway to identify plots of land for the promotion of the tourism industry in the Batticaloa District, says the President’s Media Division (PMD).
Accordingly, the identification of coastal lands which belong to the government and private sector from Werugal-Aru to Batticaloa in the Batticaloa District was taken up for discussion, it said.
The aim of this is to develop the area as a tourist zone and make Batticaloa one of the best tourist destinations in 2023, according to the PMD
Speaking at the Batticaloa district program of the National Integration Participatory Development Program – “Aluth Gamak – Aluth Ratak”, the Prime Minister further mentioned that appropriate measures will be sought in order to solve the issues that have arisen in the agricultural sector and that the government has paid special attention to providing all the necessary facilities for that purpose.
He expressed the hope that this development plan will be able in supporting livestock and agricultural sector in Batticaloa.
Farmers were able to achieve the targets that have been agreed upon. President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Government are confident that we would be able to reach self-sufficiency in most of the agricultural products.
Urban Development and Housing Ministry will pay more attention to the tourism, fishing industry and investment sectors when preparing the Eastern Metropolitan Development Plan.
As instructed by the President, speedy measures be taken to implement the Development Plan. So far, preliminary work has been started on the development plans of the Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara Districts.
These are designed by a Singapore Institute of City Architects on the advice of the Urban Development Authority.
Under the Eastern Metropolitan Development Plan, the Kuchchaveli and Nilaveli areas in the Trincomalee district will be developed as Marine and Eco-Tourism Zones.
The Verugal and Pasikuda areas in the Batticaloa District will be developed as Fishing and Tourism Zones and the area from Komari to Panama in the Ampara District will be developed as Coastal Eco-Tourism Zones.
Kinniya will also be developed as a fisheries town, Pulmudai as a mineral town and Muttur as a green energy town.
the development plan is to be started immediately, After the review is completed, the Action Plan will be prepared and it will be published by the Urban Development Authority through the Gazette.
