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| 15/01/2005 - Daily Mirror | |||
| Malwatte Mahanayake calls upon public to assist in rebuilding places of religious worship |
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Mahanayaka of the Malwatte Chapter Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala thera said all places of religious worship belonging to all faiths destroyed by the tsunami disaster should be reconstructed in a fitting manner with the help of responsible sections of society and local and international organisations. He made these observations when Colombo District Parliamentarian and President of Amarapura Nikaya Dayaka Sabha Milinda Moragoda called on the Venerable thera in Kandy on Tuesday. Matara district Parliamentarian Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana, Matale district Parliamentarian Ranjith Aluvihare, Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeratna and Anuradha Seneviratne were also present on this occasion. Chief Incumbent of Sri Dharmapalayarama Mt.Lavinia and the Secretary of Amarapura Nikaya Sangha Sabha Venarable Kotugoda Dhammawasa thera said this appeal was endorsed by the Amarapura Dayaka Sabha at a meeting held in the evening on the same day. He further added that it was decided by the Dayaka Sabha to establish a fund specially to reconstruct the Buddhist places of worship and work closely with the Buddha Sasana Ministry in this regard. Most Venarable Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala thera said that all places of religious worship whether it is Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic or Islamic affected by the tsunami disaster have to be reconstructed. "In order to do that the government should allocate part of the foreign aid received," he said. "We should remember that all these religious places were built with the help of devotees step by step. It is not ethical for us to ask for help from them at this juncture. So it is the duty of all responsible organizations to formulate plans to reconstruct these places of religious worship," he added. The thera requested Mr. Moragoda to look into the possibility of getting help from the international community specially from China, Japan, and Thailand in this regard. He also emphasized the fact that everybody should join hands at this moment of disaster to rebuild this nation. |
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