“Sri Lanka is one country and a unitary state,” Namal Rajapakse, MP and son of President Mahinda Rajapaksa said speaking at the event where Minister Douglas Devananda officially inaugurated a boat service Sunday around 11:00 a.m at Ma’n’niththalai jetty in Poonakarai, sources in Jaffna said. “Douglas is a model person to the Tamils of the country as he sets an example by cooperating with the government in the development of the whole country,” he added. Meanwhile, civil society circles in Jaffna said that Namal Rajapaksa had praised Douglas Devananda in an effort to pacify him as Namal Rajapaksa had brought five of his own boats to be engaged in the boat service between Kurunakar and Poonakari in the project which was initiated by minister Douglas Devananda.
The Governor of Northern Province, Major Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri, Namal Rajapaksa, several ministers including Douglas Devananda, P. U. Gunasekara, an Indian film actor were some of the distinguished guests in the event.
The inauguration was delayed due to a boat being grounded in the marsh as Ma’n’niththalai jetty was not completely renovated for the occasion.
Namal Rajapakse said that the sea travel between Jaffna and Poonakari would take only 45 minutes.
One private boat, however, was allowed to take part in the service and only less than a hundred persons brought by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) to be present on the occasion participated in the event.
During the unexpected delay of the event the distinguished guests did a tour around the place in a SLN vessel.
After a long period of time the public were allowed to see SLN vessels at a close distance, the sources said,
The new boat service between Kurunakar and Poonakari in the North inaugurated Sunday by Namal Rajapaksa, is to be entirely serviced by boats owned by him, sources in Jaffna said.
Douglas Devananda, a minister in Rajapaksa’s cabinet, who mints money in the A9 land route travel between Jaffna and Colombo from the four luxury air-conditioned coaches operating in his men’s names, is not satisfied with the turn of events as he himself had begun the project, for his own benefit.
This is another case of government and powerful men from South exploiting all possible sources of income in Jaffna peninsula, Tamil circles in Jaffna commented.
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