Friday Jan 16, 2026
Friday Jan 16, 2026
Friday, 16 January 2026 00:08 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday participated in a Thai Pongal festival at the Manipay Maruthadi Vinayagar Kovil.
The festival was organised by the Northern Province Tourism Bureau. The Jaffna District has emerged as a prominent destination in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, attracting significant tourist interest. The Thai Pongal festival was enriched with a wide array of Tamil cultural performances.
Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar speaking at the event said: “With the arrival of the Thai month, a new path opens,” noting that attempts by certain political actors to hinder the country’s progress have failed. He emphasised that the nation’s development requires unity among all communities—Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim alike.
President Dissanayake is on a two-day visit to the North which concludes today.
Yesterday, he officially launched Hayleys Fentons’ 50 MW wind power project in Mannar.
The President also connected the 20 MW ‘Windscape Mannar’ wind power plant constructed in Mannar by CEYLEX Renewables.
Under the ‘Windscape Mannar’ project, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s energy history, four of the country’s largest wind turbines, each with a capacity of 5 megawatts, have been commissioned, the President’s Media Division said.
As the project has been implemented by a fully local company, it has enabled a substantial amount of foreign exchange, which would otherwise have flowed to foreign contractors, to be retained within the country, thereby further strengthening the domestic economy.
The President unveiled the commemorative plaque to declare the wind power plant open and also participated in the turbine commissioning ceremony.
