Plans afoot to reduce CoL in Jaffna

Lakshmi DE SILVA in Jaffna

Jaffna’s famous Windsor cinema hall will be turned into a Lak Sathosa outlet within two weeks to bring down the prevailing high prices of essential goods in Jaffna, Trade, Commerce and Cooperatives Minister Bandula Gunawardena told a meeting in Jaffna yesterday.

Ministers Bandula Gunawardena, Douglas Devananda, Tissa Karaliyadda and Mahindananda Aluthgamage held discussions with the members of the Jaffna Chamber of Commerce, small and medium traders and farmers at the Jaffna Kachcheri to seek ways to bring down the cost of living and address their problems. During the discussion, it was revealed that there was a monopoly created by some traders and steps should be taken to arrest the situation.

Not only essential goods, but prices of vegetables like drumsticks and tomatoes were high as Rs. 400 per kilogram though drumsticks were freely available in Jaffna.

The Ministers emphasized that it was now a new Sri Lanka, one nation and President Mahinda Rajapaksa did not want to have different prices for essential goods whether it was in Colombo, Galle, Matara or Jaffna.

The Ministers suggested that farmers send their products directly to the special Economic Centre at Narahenpita without sending them through intermediary channels so that the products would be in good quality and fetch better prices.

Minister Gunawardena said two new outlets of the State Trading Corporation and Building Materials Corporation would be set up to bring down the high prices of cement, tyres and tubes.

Jaffna Chamber of Commerce members requested the Ministers to increase the number of lorries transporting goods from Colombo to Jaffna which was around 30 to 40. The Ministers said they would extend their fullest cooperation to bring down the prices of goods.