The Industries Ministry plans to manufacture robes required for Buddhist monks locally instead of importing them from Thailand, Industries Ministry sources said.
During a discussion held recently with Industries Minister Wimal Weerawansa at his Ministry, the Anunayake of the Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Maha Sanga Sabha, Ven. Prof. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera pointed said it is required to have more than 100,000 standard robes for more than 40,000 Buddhist monks currently living in the country, and that a significant amount of robes is annually imported to Sri Lanka to see to that demand.
Ven. Rahula Thera also briefed the minister about the possibility of manufacturing robes locally to cater the demand. "A few decades ago, quality robes required for Buddhist monks were produced locally through 'Lanka Salusala', but later, production was not sufficient to cater the demand. As a result, a large amount of robes were imported from Thailand," Ven. Rahula Thera said.
He further said Buddhist monks in countries such as Myanmar and Laos have their own unique identity, and that it is also required to maintain such an identity in Sri Lanka as well.
After considering all the information pointed out by the Anunayake Thera, Minister Weerawansa instructed relevant authorities to take immediate measures to produce robes locally and further instructed Sri Lanka Institute of Textile & Apparel to do a comprehensive study on the manufacturing of robes using high-quality raw materials.
He also instructed the 'Lanka Salusala' Chairman to create background to use the fabric manufactured by them for the robes and sell them locally.
