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The fruit of our Grow More Trees Campaign
Around 1983, the then Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, inspired by the vision of Anagarika Dharmapala, started the Grow More Trees Campaign on September 17, also the birth anniversary of the Anagarika and the birthday of the then President J.R. Jayewardene.
Preceding this initiative was a campaign spearheaded by the Gangaramaya temple in Colombo. It was called “Tree Bank”. All newspaper companies helped with the publicity campaign, with Wijeya Newspapers Limited taking the lead. What motivated us to carry out the programme was a campaign that was started in India. Despite its multiple problems, India can be regarded as a developed country with regard to growing of trees. Sadly, Sri Lanka, which was once blessed with a vast forest cover, is lagging behind.
The Gangaramaya took efforts, starting from Colombo to the outstations, to spread the message of growing more trees. Those who received seeds and plants were appreciative about the efforts made.
Though the campaign was given publicity in the newspapers, and plants and seed material were distributed personally by us, and at times we ourselves planted them, there is only a sad story to tell today. It was like preparing the food and feeding the people, but the lazy ones among them cannot even munch the food, let alone swallow it. This is a tragedy. If all of us grew something around our house, along the boundary, along the fence or even adjoining the roadway, we would have had a better environment and a stable weather pattern by now. Today, not many people are worried about the inadequate rain fall the country gets and the pollution in the air that we breathe. People have lost interest in preserving our natural surroundings and thereby increasing the quality of their life.
Today, many people are interested in plastic flowers. Such people are lazy and do not realize that it is a waste of money. Besides, plastic is harmful to the environment.
They should awaken to the truth and told about the importance of natural flowers and taught to appreciate the value of banana leaves, arecanut leaves and kenda leaves. The Gangaramaya, along with the teachers and pupils of the Sri Jinarathana Technical College, undertook this mission.
We are very happy to present to the public the results of our hardwork at the big land area owned by Bhadrawathi Fernando Memorial Fund at Urumutta village on Bopagoda Road in Akuressa. We planted small plants and trees. The Mahogany trees we planted have grown to have a girth of 7 to 8 feet. We planted hundreds of thousands of teak trees, arecanut trees, agarwood trees, nutmeg trees, spice plants, oranges, cashew and other home garden plants. We went ahead with our campaign, overcoming many difficulties, trekking difficult terrain and climbing mountains and hills. The youth who joined the campaign worked with dedication and were prepared to undergo any difficulty. Today, each mahogany tree is worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. In addition, vanilla creepers and pepper creepers grow on them. We also planted coffee, tea, cinnamon, banana, thibbatu and chillie plants.
This large estate of many hundreds acres in Urumitta is adjoining Elamaldeniya forest, close to Pitabaddara forest and the Sinharaja forest. Our “Tree Bank” project is bearing fruit today.
We also started similar projects in Ingiriya, Bulathsinhala, Nugadandawatte, Suriyawewa, Weeraketiya. Kurunegala, Deltota and Shekerly Estate at Ambakote. All these projects are now 35 years old. If, during these 35 years, all the people in Sri Lanka had joined in, Sri Lanka would have been a prosperous country today.
On the contrary, most paddy fields have become fallow today. We depend on food imports. From a tiny pin to textiles, clothes, shoes and massive industrial plants, we depend on imports.
Once, this country had a flourishing gem business, but today, we bring in gems from Madagascar and Africa. Bring gold and silver jewellery from Dubai, Singapore and Thailand. Our beddings, mattresses and furniture come from abroad. How did this happen? Who brought about this situation?
The Government has increased the Customs duty and tariff. But high taxes only give rise to smuggling, preventing the Government from earning the much-hoped-for revenue. We import luxury vehicles. Most people go after luxury items not because of their utility value, but because they want to show off.
Though we have free health service, access to health service is becoming a costly affair. Some people are compelled to go abroad for medical treatment. Similarly, free education is a myth. Today, most students run behind private tuition. Even for their tertiary education, they are inclined to go for foreign degrees, with local universities being able to accommodate only a limited number of students. Even for jobs, many people want to go abroad, especially the Middle East, despite the horrendous stories that we hear about the harsh working conditions and bodies being sent home without vital organs.
Most of our social ills are largely because we have forgotten to live by the Buddha Dhamma.
As we celebrate the Vesak Week, we want to stress on our message: We must grow something at least for our nourishment. For the upkeep of our surroundings we must plant trees. We must protect our water resources, without depending on the bottle of water. As the Buddha preached, health is the greatest wealth.
Do we have healthy people in our country? Long life is beyond us. Those who are afflicted mentally or physically must strive to get out of those conditions and help the old, children and relatives to live healthy lives. They must get out of indebtedness, live happily, do what is only possible and strive always to be helpful to others. We must live without being a burden to others, in peace and with exemplary characters. Respect everyone and during this time of Vesak resolve to be good and be an example to everyone.
Let all beings be happy, successful with determination to be happy and free.