Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Dr. Bandula Gunawardana with Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Minister of State Janaka Vakkambura, Minister of State Premalal Jayasekara, Former Minister and Member of Parliament Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Member of Parliament Muditha Soysa, Chairman of SLTB Lalith Alwis at the opening.
Another phase of the distribution of new buses given to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) under the Indian Credit Line (ICC) took place in Ratnapura under the patronage of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena.
These new buses are being distributed to all the districts in the island according to a concept of Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, to put 500 new buses into operation this year to strengthen public transport in rural areas in conjunction with the 75th Independence Commemoration.
Accordingly, 23 new buses were handed over to five SLTB depots in Ratnapura by Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena.
The minister addressing the gathering at the event said, “Due to running at a loss for a long time, the public transport services including railways and SLTB were in a state of collapse. In this situation, it was not possible to allocate money to get new buses or for other needs.
Also, foreign loan assistance received for road development and other activities has also been temporarily suspended. In order to regain those facilities, the International Monetary Fund has proposed a special program for the restructuring of our country’s debt. Until that program is implemented, it will not be possible to move the country forward. In order to make these activities successful, a series of special discussions are currently being held in cooperation with friendly countries such as India, Japan, and France”.
“The reality of this ongoing crisis should be understood by the people as well as all of us. For that we all have to work more effectively and efficiently”.
“In order to overcome this crisis under the current situation, every depot in the island should be made to break even by the year 2025. For that purpose, a target is given to every institution. In order to prevent fraud, corruption and malpractices, necessary activities are being done these days to digitize all operational activities including issuing and booking tickets”.
“We hope to work soon to give cabinet approval to provide necessary facilities to the depots which increase their income by working more efficiently to get new buses from their income”.
“In order to move forward as a country, no matter who started it, good things must be continued. We should all be determined to dedicate ourselves to the country by working for that”.
Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Minister of State Janaka Vakkambura, Minister of State Premalal Jayasekara, Former Minister and Member of Parliament Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Member of Parliament Muditha Soysa, Chairman of SLTB Lalith Alwis and a group of officials, local political leaders and local residents participated in this event.
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| Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Dr. Bandula Gunawardana with State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government and MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara. |
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| Some of the buses distributed among the SLTB depots in Ratnapura. |
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