‘Small family concept’ not relevant today-Mahipala

19 January 2013 06:38 am

Amidst concern over the slow growth rate of the Sinhala population, Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council Chief Minister Mahipala Herath said that the ‘small family concept’ was no longer valid in Sri Lanka today.

The Chief Minister was apparently referring to the heavily campaigned ‘Punchi Pawula Raththaran’ concept in the 1980s. He said it was an irrelevant concept today because the country needed more and more pious and wise children for its forward march. He was making these remarks at a function held to mark the Kegalle district summit of the Government’s Midwifery Services Association.

The Chief Minister said that midwives had a greater role to play in nullifying the validity of this small family concept. “Like the Central Government, the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council has given priority to develop the health sector. The small family concept was highly recognized once. Now, parents should be encouraged to produce more and more children ,” he said.