Colombo: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed the Ministry of Defence to develop necessary infrastructure facilities with the assistance of the Tri-Forces for the upcoming Maha season’s paddy purchasing. This initiative includes providing technical assistance and labor support to repair warehouses owned by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) and Sathosa.

According to Ministry of Defence – Sri Lanka, a coordinating conference was held at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agricultural Research and Training Institute in Colombo under the patronage of Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation, Dr. Susil Ranasinghe. The conference focused on utilizing the labor, technical expertise, and machinery of the Tri-Forces to conduct necessary renovations of the warehouses.

The Ministry of Defence has committed to completing the warehouse renovations by the end of the month, before the Maha season’s paddy purchasing begins. It has also been agreed to provide the required security for the warehouse premises as part of the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ program.

The PMB operates 209 warehouses across the island, while Sathosa manages 12. Officials discussed the existing shortcomings in these warehouses, planned steps for improvements, and future strategies.

Participants in the discussion included PMB officials such as Chairman Manjula Pinnalanda, Chief Executive Officer Professor A L Rajaguru, Regional Managers, and Defence Ministry officials, along with Director General of the Sri Lanka Army General Staff Branch Major General Dinesh Udugama and senior officers from the Tri-Forces.