Sri Lanka India Society holds AGM with T.S. Prakash re-elected as President for 3rd year

The Annual General Meeting of Sri Lanka India Society was held recently at the Hotel Taj Samudra. T.S. Prakash has been unanimously re-elected for the Presidency. He is serving his third year as the President of the Society, which is held in high esteem in both countries. 

Sri Lanka India Society came into being in 1949 soon after the independence of India and Sri Lanka and is recognised as the oldest and the largest friendship society in Sri Lanka.

The first event for the new term under his Presidency was the celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The next event of significance will be the centenary visit celebrations of Sree Narayana Guru to Sri Lanka, followed by Indian Republic Day and Sri Lanka Independence Day in 2019.

The Sri Lanka India Society is committed to its mission of strengthening the relations between the two countries – this commitment is further fortified by the activities and events the Society holds that foster bi-lateral relations.

The Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu who was present at the AGM delivered an address that traced the roots of the Society and examined its unique role.

As the Society enters its Platinum Jubilee year, Sandhu noted that there were significant developments; including a meeting between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Hanoi on the sidelines of Indian Ocean Conference while a parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya visited India and met the Indian leadership including President, PM, EAM, Speaker, etc. These meetings served to strengthen the already cordial relations between the two countries, he added.

“We handed over the first phase of 14,000 houses built in plantation areas under the Indian Housing Project. This is the first time such beneficiaries are being given houses with land ownership in upcountry. In addition, the 1990 Emergency Ambulance Service was extended to Uva. In July, the service was extended to Jaffna and was made available island-wide. In addition, a facility to house 5000-metric ton cold storage in Dambulla to minimise post-harvest losses will be put up by India,” he said.

As a gesture of support towards communities in the hill country, the foundation stone was laid for new buildings at Saraswathy Central College in Pusselawa, Kandy District while 150 boats have been handed over to residents in Mullativu, as a part of a generous grant from India.

He added that the Government of Sri Lanka has signed a contract for the procurement of 160 passenger coaches from India under an Indian Line of Credit at a value of $ 83 million. He also noted that the Navies of the two countries took part in a joint naval exercise in Trincomalee, while 150 GoSL officials have been trained in various institutes in India on a fully-funded basis as skill development initiatives.

“There was substantial participation by Indian companies in various exhibitions/fairs in Sri Lanka such as Buildcon, Lankapak, Profood Propack, Complast, Shilpabhimani, etc. Let me reiterate that our partnership is focused on people-oriented projects that touch the lives of ordinary citizens of Sri Lanka. Our development partnership is firm and solid and aimed at making a difference in the lives of ordinary Sri Lankans,” he reiterated.

He stressed that as a part of celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, India has paid tribute to a great leader with a series of events spread across two years and taking place around the world. He recalled that Mahatma Gandhi visited Ceylon in 1927. 

Taranjit Singh Sandu commended the activities undertaken by the Society under the able leadership of T.S. Prakash and expressed his desire to see further consolidation in celebrating the warm and close ties between two neighbouring countries that share such a common heritage.