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Vesak joy lights up country from north to south
While Vesak celebrations were held islandwide on a grand note, health and municipal authorities put in place stringent measures to ensure that dansalas held around the country met hygiene standards.
Kalutara Bodhiya and the Kelaniya temple in all their glory
The Secretary of the Sri Lanka Public Health Inspectors Union Senarath Bandara informed the Sunday Times that through awareness campaigns dansala organisers were instructed to register with the relevant municipal authorities, and subsequently on Vesak days, 4,850 registered dansalas islandwide were inspected by 1,450 inspectors.
The inspectors detected and raided almost 2,000 unregistered dansalas serving food, he said.
In addition, 2,430 temporary and permanent food outlets set up in places of worship and Vesak zones were also inspected for hygiene standards. Of these, 68
A pandal Jaffna
outlets identified to be of low quality.
The Acting Chief Food Inspector of the Colombo Municipal Council M.B. Lal Kumara said that of the 246 dansalas registered with the Colombo Municipality only one, in Kollupitiya, was reported as being unhygienic.
The Chief Medical Officer Colombo Municipal Council, Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam 
told the Sunday Times that over the seven years that the practice of monitoring dansalas has been carried out the authorities had been able to put in place proper mechanisms to tackle hygiene, a reason which he attributes to the near absence of suspect premises in the Colombo Municipal area.
Meanwhile police were on high alert during the Vesak season to ensure public safety.
Some 30,000 police officers were deployed around the country while Colombo, in particular, had 8,000 officers on duty.
In areas such as Gangaramaya, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Chaithya Road, Gregory’s Road and Diyawanna Oya where Vesak Zones were
President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at Gangaramaya
held, special parking arrangements were also put in place for public safety and convenience.
Although no major incidents were reported, in Uragasmanhandiya, Elpitiya, a shop owner selling alcohol on the pretext of selling pooja items was taken into custody, while in Siyambala Anduwa a bus carrying pilgrims was attacked by a gang. Some 80 people were arrested for various incidents stemming from the indulgence of liquor.
During this year’s Vesak celebrations, Polonnaruwa hosted the official State Vesak Festival. The event was organised by the Ministry of Buddha Sanana and 
Religious Affairs together with Department of Buddhist Affairs and Polonnaruwa District Secretariat.
According to the Media Secretary of the Buddha Sasana Ministry, Jayasooriya Udukumbura, a series of colourful celebrations took place in the Vesak zone in the Polonnaruwa Galviharaya Temple compound followed by a gathering of people at the Buddhi Mandapaya in Polonnaruwa attended by Prime Minister D. M Jayaratne, the Ven. Niyangoda Vijithasiri Anunayake Thero of the Malwatte Chapter and a host of other state officials, religious dignities, members of various organisations.
Among the highlights of the programme were a sil campaign attended by 6000-7000 devote
es, the lighting up of the Kiri Vehera, pindapatha charika, shramadaana campaigns to clean up 297 temples, overnight pirith recitation, the ordinations of of 44 novice monks, the awarding of scholarships to students from dhamma schools and the donation of eight houses to low-income families who had given their children to the Sasana.
A Bhakthi Gee float on the Diyawanna
The Vesak celebrations organised by the Jaffna Buddhist Society with the assistance of Sri Lanka military from May 14-16 attracted large crowds from various parts of the island, according to the army spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya.
Vesak Bhakthi Gee sung in Sinhala and Tamil by members of the military together with the students from Jaffna was another significant aspect of the Vesak celebrations held in Jaffna, A special Vesak zone titled “Yapa Patunai, Dahama Amawai” featured a 43-foot giant pandal lit with 60,000 bulbs – a first for Jaffna. The objective of organising the Vesak zone in Jaffna was to promote national unity through religious reconciliation.
Brigadier Wanigasooriya said.
Vesak celebrations in Colombo city and its suburbs took place on a grand scale with huge crowds coming to Colombo to witness various programmes and the brilliant traditional illuminations.
A spokesperson from the Colombo City Tours conducted by Ebert Silva Holidays informed that they had a great demand from the
public, who requested that Vesak tours be organised in the Colombo City Rider double-deckers. Tours patronized by locals and foreigners covered areas such as the Dutch Hospital Colombo, the Town Hall, Bauddhaloka Mawatha and Diyatha Uyana in Battaramulla.
Pix by Ratnasiri Premalal, Lal S. Kumara, N. Parameshwaran, Managala Weerasekera, Susantha Liyanawatte, Indika Handuwala and Milan Maligaspe