Indian Ambassador’s visit to Kandy underscores expanse of relations, says High Commission

High Commissioner of India, Santosh Jha visited Kandy on Thursday (18) and sought blessings of the Mahanayake Theras of the Asgiriya and Malwatte chapters, Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thera and Most Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thera, respectively.

High Commissioner Jha underlined that Buddhism was central to the age-old connection between the people of India and Sri Lanka and briefed the Mahanayake Theras on various initiatives undertaken by the Government of India (GoI) to strengthen bilateral Buddhist ties. He specifically mentioned that measures are being carried out expeditiously to roll out solar electrification of Temples across the country, through the GoI assistance.

He offered prayers at the sacred Dalada Maligawa for prosperity and wellbeing of the people of the two countries and also a stronger and deeper connection between them.

He also prayed for closer bilateral relations through further diversification in both scale and scope at the Kataragama Dewalaya.

He visited Hanthana Estate and took stock of the Indian Housing Project. While the GoI has already built 50 houses in the Estate, under the third phase, more housing units are being constructed in the next phase of the Project. Overall, the GoI has committed to 14,000 new houses for plantation workers, in the two phases of the project.

The High Commissioner also inaugurated an Ayurveda camp, aimed at the physical wellbeing of the plantation workers. He also distributed study materials and umbrellas to schoolchildren in the Estate. He remarked that these are keeping in line with the GoI’s firm commitment to the overall upliftment of the plantation workers and the Indian origin Tamil community, in particular.

It may be recalled that a multi-sectoral grant package to the tune of SLR 3 billion was announced by the GoI during the visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India in July 2023.