Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that as a government they were ready to remove the various hardships faced by the people during these difficult times.
“When people are provided with relief, some ask whether there is an election in the offing. We are not carrying out these projects expecting votes or an election,” the Prime Minister said.
He said that the people ask the same question when a relief package was granted to people as they face difficulties.
“We are a government which has a clear understanding about the hardships of the people.
When the prices of goods increase it is difficult for the people. That is why we propose to provide relief,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that the Opposition is not in favour of providing relief to the people. Theycriticize that too. They do not like us giving but they do not do so either. The people should know that, that is the truth.
“These people talk as if we brought in COVID.However, no one talks about the fact that people were protected from COVID because of us,”the Prime Minister said.
“When we realize that the prices of goods are high, as a government we make decisions.
However, the impact due to the COVID pandemic which changed the entire world cannot be removed overnight. The people of these areas are well aware of the value of water. I need not explain it in detail. If it had been possible to complete this project earlier, it would have been more valuable. People of this area suffered so much for decades without clean drinking water. Today, as a government we have been able to provide a permanent solution to that problem. We know that however much water there is in the world, there is only a very limited amount that we can use.
Also, from that quantity only another very limited amount can be used for drinking. Even though drinking water is restricted thus, it is a problem why people do not come forward to protect sources where we obtain potable water from.
