Presidential mobile service: People in Thellapilli asked to fund ceremony

Residents of Thellapilli in the Jaffna District have been asked to fund the inauguration ceremony of the presidential mobile service (Janadipathi Nila Mehewara), which was attended by President Maithrripala Sirusena, EPDP MP Douglas Devananda said yesterday.

He said a notice has been sent by the divisional secretariat asking the people in the area to fund the event. “They are agitated by this notice. The government should spend for its functions instead of asking the people to fund for them,” the MP said.

Internal Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardene in his response said only those who volunteered were invited to sponsor the event and that no one was forced to fund the event. He said the people had highlighted some 340,000 problems faced by them in the Jaffna District during this event and 196,000 of them were resolved. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)