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News
Financial institutions to support Wanni development Tamil rebels and a team of bankers led by a Sri Lankan peace negotiator met last week in the northern town of Kilinochchi to discuss development issues. An official
statement from the state-run Peace Secretariat said that Bernard
Goonetilleke, Director- General of the Secretariat for coordinating
the peace process, led the delegation comprising representatives
of the Japan Bank for International Coorporation, NDB Bank and National
Development Trust Fund. "The delegation
was warmly received by S.P. Thamilselvan, Leader of the Political
Wing of the LTTE," it said. The main thrust
of the discussion was the expeditious development of the Wanni under
a national strategy for development. The need to
assist the areas affected by the conflict and facilitating the economic
upliftment of the civilian population, including through micro-financing,
was discussed. The meeting also focused on enabling people to resume
their normal economic activities and also restoring and rehabilitating
the network of roads, irrigation tanks and agricultural and fishing
industries with greater market access to other areas. Representatives
of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation stressed the bank's
long - held policy to undertake activities in conditions of security
and in a situation of durable peace. In response,
the LTTE re-affirmed its firm commitment to achieving lasting peace
in Sri Lanka. It also pledged
to cooperate on practical programmes, keeping the long-term development
of the region in view. Thamilselvan
stated that they would study the possible areas for development.
It was agreed
that the dialogue with the financial institutions would continue
in the future to work out concrete programmes. Such programmes will
be implemented through region based partnership organisations for
the benefit of the civilian population. The discussion,
which lasted two and a half hours, was followed by a visit of the
delegation to Iranamadu area where the Agricultural Facility of
the University of Jaffna was relocated prior to its shifting to
Jaffna in 1996. The LTTE expressed its interest in relocating the faculty back at Kilinochchi, the statement added. "Guide
Ambuja" camp held in Matara House builders,
wives, professionals, government personnel and even housewives with
children visited the camp to gain information and discuss their
individual requirements and problems. "The response to the camps has been so good that we will continuing holding these camps in other areas," said Ambuja's Technical Services Manager, Jayantha Bandara. Hi-tech
Industry: As a result,
tax exemptions will be granted for sponsorship and participation
in the exhibition and conference channelled through the Ministry
for Economic Reform, Science & Technology. Exhibits that
are to be temporarily imported for the exhibition will be exempted
from customs duties. The exhibition
will be held from 10th to 13th October at the Sri Lanka Exhibition
& Convention Centre and the conference from 7 to 9 October. The event is
organised by Infotel Lanka Society Ltd., a non-profit cluster unit
with representatives from the ICT industry, IT professional bodies
and relevant government agencies. This year's Exhibition and Conference will promote the deployment of ICT as a competitive tool to improve the performance and efficiency of industries and businesses all over Sri Lanka. Czech
Airlines resume flights to Colombo "The Czechs
are great travellers," said Jayantha Fernando, Honorary Consul
in Colombo for the Czech Republic. "Being a landlocked country
they love beaches and are frequent travellers to the Mediterranean
and Thailand. So there is a lot of potential for a large influx
of visitors to Sri Lanka." The biggest problem had been the
absence of direct flights to Colombo from the Czech capital Prague.
Now, Czech
Airlines plans to extend to Colombo its eight flights a week to
Dubai. The inaugural flight to Colombo would be on October 29. The Czech Republic's
national carrier operates international and domestic flights from
Ruzyne airport. CSA flies to major cities in Europe, Middle East
and to New York, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Bangkok and Singapore.
The Czech republic
is a country of 10 million people whose spending power is on the
rise following the country's conversion to a market economy. Fernando said there were also possibilities for two-way travel with many Sri Lankan Christians being able to travel to the Infant Jesus shrine in Prague. Commercial
Bank Customer Service Point The new Service
Point is linked with all island-wide branches, service points and
MiniCom outlets of the bank, enabling customers of the area, to
carry out transactions from any Commercial Bank branch of their
choice. The Service
Point is equipped with the latest technology and offers 24-hour
banking facilities through CAT Automated Teller Machines and the
ComTel Telebanking service. Speaking at
the opening of the Nawala Customer Service Point, Commercial Bank's
Deputy General Manager - Corporate Banking Harris Prema ratne said:
"A combination of the latest technology and personalized customer service through carefully selected staff enables Commercial Bank to assure customers the best service."
Small businesses need support Nilooka Dissanayake,
managing editor of Athwela and columnist of Business@Home which
appears in The Sunday Times, made a presentation on small businesses
and the way forward which triggered a lot of discussion among members
of the club. She cited the
lack of information for business startups as one of the main problems
and said a centralized system where would-be entrepreneurs could
have access to finance, ideas and preparation of project reports
would be helpful. "There
is also insufficient support for small businesses in the general
policy structure (of the country)," she said, a point that
was endorsed by other members. Dissanayake also referred to the
Young Entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka (YESL) programme in schools which
has generated a lot of interest among schoolchildren. "We need
to contribute our mite from the private sector and small businesses
like myself to guide these youngsters." Issues relating to the promotion of small businesses that represent the bulk of the Sri Lankan economy like identifying their problems, giving them a helping hand and making sure their interests are also represented in the policy-making processes instead of only the big chambers, were also discussed. A new committee of the club was elected with former president Romesha Wijesuriya unanimously returning as the new president. Other members of the committee are Dharshana Senerath, vice president, Ajith Bandara Hulawa, treasurer, Priyal Perera, Thilanka de Zoysa, Sanka Athukorala, Tharanga Gunasekera and Farzana Khan Benjamin. Patrick Amarasinghe and Nalin Attygalle have been appointed as honorary consultants. Trans Asia hotel sponsored the meeting. Providing
security after retirement Parks
and palaces of Bangalore
At
present, Sri Lankan Airlines operates to six destinations in India
each week. These include Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Trichy, and Trivandrum. Bangalore is
a great city with a cosmopolitan quality. Sixty five percent of
its population are migrants from other states in India. Four languages
are spoken in the city- Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and English along
with many dialects. Bangalore also
hosts an International Technology Park giving employment to more
than 75,000 IT professionals, not only from India but from other
countries as well. This hi-tech
park housed a wide range of businesses such as information technology,
biotechnology, electronics, telecom, R & D, financial services
and other IT-related services. Moreover, this
IT city boasts of more global names in IT than the rest of India
combined. It has taken some of the world's finest brains and corporate
giants from Singapore and India to build up this business paradise
along with joint venture partners like Tata Industries, Information
Technology Park Investment Ltd and Karnataka Industrial Areas Development
Board. According to
the Manager- Amenities of the IT Park, Uma Vinay Kumar, stage 1
of the park, which houses an office and multi-purpose complex, is
fully occupied. With the curtain
rising on stage two, International Tech Park is set to provide additional
quality office space to knowledge-based industries around the world.
The park is
well on its way to becoming a colossal, quality technology kingdom,
encompassing more than 1.85 million square feet of office space
and a further 1.45 million sq. ft of production and residential
area. The park also
contains 51 residential apartments and penthouses in a seven- storey
residential tower. Mysore The most exciting
place in the whole of Mysore was the Maharaja's palace, built in
the Indo-Saracenic style, profusely decorated and gilded, bearing
testimony of the prosperity, power and glory of its former rulers.
A solid jewel-studded
throne displayed during the Desare festival in October is the most
striking object that visitors see in the palace. Visitors are not
allowed to take cameras inside. India also
provides an example to the world of how an industrialised and modern
metropolis can protect and preserve its natural resources and beauty. Situated in
the outskirts of the city of Bangalore, Bannerghatta Nature Reserve
possesses a rich diversity of fauna and flora, including rare species
such as bear, guar (a wild boar), lions and tigers. The 25,000-acre
jungle provides a corridor for more than 4,000 elephants on their
annual migration through the region. The wild life
park, which has built accommodation as a part of Karnataka's network
of jungle lodges, has won an eco-tourism award from the Indian government. It also rehabilitates
more animals rescued from circuses than any other park in India. Jungle Most of the animals roams in the jungle quite freely and have been well looked after by the authorities. Safari jeeps, which are controlled by the Tourist Department of Karnataka State, are freely available to visitors at a nominal price figure. |
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