News

ARTHUR DIAS AND THE JAK TREE

Published

4 years ago

2022/02/20

by Goolbai Gunasekara

“Environment” is probably the most popular word in the world at the moment. Buildings are built on a ‘going green’ basis. Companies advertise the fact that their products and indeed even their new surroundings have all ‘gone green.’ New factories would not dream of being constructed without an environmentalist telling them how to set about it.

The subject forms part of school syllabuses. For example, Geography in my time used to be all about mountain ranges, national rivers, varied climates and the diversity of vegetation. No longer. I picked up an OL Geography text the other day and found it was as incomprehensible to me now as Science texts used to be in the past. The Geography syllabus is now so vast it has become a specialized subject and with good cause, for there is no doubt that our planet is heavily under siege thanks to the stupidity of man himself who has brought it to the brink of tragedy. It cannot be stressed strongly enough how urgently necessary it is to halt the destruction of the soil.

All this brings to mind the work of one man who was a well-known personality of my youth (nay even earlier for I was around five when I received my first jak seed from him). He is not even mentioned by most people today who have moved on to new heroes of Sport and Politics, and yet this man’s work, in my opinion, is one of the most valuable contributions made to the population of this country albeit in a quietly caring yet passionately concerned way.

The Dias name is a well-known one in Visakha Vidyalaya, the foremost Buddhist Government Girls’ School in Colombo. Mrs. Jeremias Dias was the philanthropist who donated the prime land on which Visakha stands today. She is revered as the school’s Founder.

Her son, Arthur Dias naturally took a great interest in this fledgling Buddhist Girl’s School that my American Mother headed for 12 years at a time when it was still a private school and the Government had not taken over most schools and forced them willy nilly into the Free Education System.

His brother, Mr. Charles Dias, took over the managership of the school after the great National leader, Sir Baron Jayatilleke was appointed Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India and could no longer act as Manager. This gave his brother, Arthur, the forum he needed to popularize his dream of having a Jak tree in every garden of Sri Lanka.

At every Visakha Prize Day Arthur Dias would be on stage alongside his brother (and my mother) with a box of specially packeted jak seeds on the Prize table. His own mother, Mrs. Jeremias Dias’s portrait, presided over all these doings on the Visakha stage and one assumes that she instilled these ideas of future staple foods for Sri Lankan populations into her sons along with her ideas of running the highly successful Dias estates in which Jak trees abounded along with plantation crops.

Every Visakha Prize winner was handed a Jak tree seedling and sometime during the evening Arthur would give a talk to the audience about the nutritional value of the Jak fruit which would serve as a standby were famine ever to hit our fruitful land. I have just planted two jak trees myself outside our garden on a vacant swamp land in the hope it will feed someone, sometime in the future. Mr. Dias would be proud of me.

The Dias Walauwe was in Panadura, and not content to popularize his vision in Visakha alone, he had his helpers standing at the bus stands in the city handing out these precious seeds to passengers.

And if all this sounds excessively obsessive, Arthus Dias went further. He petitioned the British Government of the time to pass a law that no Jak tree could be cut down without the permission of the authorities. Governments then (even British ones) were not ready to pass such requests without first ignoring them, later grudgingly reading them and finally agreeing to the excellence of the scheme.

To this day this law is still in operation and is rarely disregarded.

If Arthur Dias had this kind of influence in one school I wonder if schools of today could not popularize some aspect of the environment that would benefit the food chain of Sri Lankan. In the future we face droughts, floods and even famines.

That sturdy Jak tree has saved many a village family from hunger. What could it not have done for the Bihar famine of British times in India! Imagine a Jak tree in every home feeding the starving population of Bihar that Churchill was deliberately starving.

I have no idea if new Jak trees continue to be planted in our island. I think it an inspired idea if schools were to hand out these seeds at prize givings and other functions. Not only will the work of a far-seeing man be perpetuated but the country will surely benefit tremendously by this highly tasty addition to its food supply. Of course, more than half the recipients of these seeds will toss them in the nearest wastepaper basket but there will be that small percentage of citizens who will actually follow through and plant them.

The outlook of future world food supplies is bleak. We are told that pollution of the seas will be so great that fish will be contaminated thus putting a stop to one source of food. Animals will also be likewise polluted by the air and all sorts of poisonous gases, so meat is out.

Ergo, vegetarianism is on the cards. Let us begin getting used to it and just to make life easier for us, Sri Lankans, let us begin planting Jak trees. Arthur Dias’s dream may save us.

(Excerpted from Principal Factor first published in Lanka Market Digest)

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News

Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh meets PM

Published

3 mins ago

2025/11/8

Priyan

Ambassador Asad Alam Siam, Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, paid a courtesy call on Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, at Temple Trees on 06 November.

The Prime Minister welcomed the Foreign Secretary and his delegation. The discussions focused on current regional developments and matters of mutual interest, with particular emphasis on accountability, transparency, and good governance.

Prime Minister Dr. Amarasuriya underlined the importance of institutional reforms and the need to eliminate corrupt practices to strengthen effective and transparent governance systems. Both sides also explored potential avenues for enhanced collaboration between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in areas of shared interest.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from both countries.

The Bangladesh delegation included Andalib Elias, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka; Ms. Ishrat Jahan, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Md. Manuar Mukarram, Director (FSO), Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Mohammad Nahid Zahangir, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Sri Lankan delegation comprised Dharmapala Weerakkody, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh; Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatta, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister; and Samantha Pathirana, Director General of the South Asia & SAARC Division.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

Honorary Chair of The Nippon Foundation, pays courtesy call on PM

Published

52 mins ago

2025/11/8

Priyan

Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, Honorary Chair of The Nippon Foundation, paid a courtesy call on Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, at Temple Trees on 06 November.

The Prime Minister extended a warm welcome to Mr. Sasakawa and expressed her appreciation for his second visit to Sri Lanka. Mr. Sasakawa briefed the Prime Minister on the Leprosy Conference held earlier that morning, which was also attended by the President. He outlined The Nippon Foundation’s ongoing projects in Sri Lanka, highlighting initiatives that support persons with disabilities, especially students with special needs.

Mr. Sasakawa discussed the work of the Sri Lankan School of Prosthetics and Orthotics and proposed upgrading the institution to university level with government assistance. Prime Minister Dr. Amarasuriya responded positively, noting that she would instruct the Ministry of Education to assess the feasibility of this proposal.

The Prime Minister commended The Nippon Foundation’s “100 Schools Project” in the Northern Province and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to improving educational and social inclusion for students with disabilities. She also acknowledged the resource limitations faced by some programmes and expressed appreciation for Japan’s continued support in addressing these challenges.

Akio Isomata, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, reiterated Japan’s commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation with Sri Lanka, particularly in promoting inclusivity and social welfare.

Both sides concluded the meeting by expressing their shared commitment to strengthening collaboration between Sri Lanka, Japan, and The Nippon Foundation in advancing education, accessibility, and social inclusion.

The meeting was attended by Yohei Sasakawa, Honorary Chair of The Nippon Foundation; Akio Isomata, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka; Ryo Takaoka, Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan; and Shota Nakayasu, Secretary to the Chairman, The Nippon Foundation.

Representing the Sri Lankan side were Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatta, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Savitri Panabokke, Director General, East Asia & Oceania Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ms. Gayanga Dias, Assistant Director, East Asia & Oceania Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

Govt. corrals many more into tax net by lowering VAT threshold from Rs. 60 Mn to Rs. 36 Mn

Published

13 hours ago

2025/11/8

Thilina Walpola

Projected revenue at Rs. 5.3 Bn, budget deficit 1.75 Bn

Rs. 6,500 Mn allocated for Clean Sri Lanka initiative

Estate wages hiked to Rs. 1,750 from Rs. 1,350 per day

Rs. 1 Bn allocated to address human-elephant conflict

Rs. 342 Bn for road development programmes

The government has decided to reduce the annual turnover threshold for the registration of Value Added Tax and Social Security Contribution Levy from Rs. 60 million to Rs. 36 million.

The proposal will be implemented with effect from 01 April, 2026.

The new tax system has been proposed with the view of broadening the tax base, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said during his 2026 Budget speech in Parliament yesterday.

He said that the total number of registered taxpayers in Sri Lanka has increased by 300,000 as of 30 September, 2025, compared to 2024.

The President made this revelation while delivering the 2026 Budget speech.

President Dissanayake also confirmed that the Simplified VAT System (SVAT) has been abolished with effect from 01 October, 2025, and has been shifted to an approved refund process to improve tax compliance and reduce misuse.

Presenting the Budget Proposals for the year 2026 commenced at 1.30 pm and continued till 5.57 pm.

According to the 2026 Budget proposal delivered by the President, the government’s expected revenue for 2026 is set at Rs. 5,300 million while the expenditure has been projected to be Rs. 7,057 million.

The Budget deficit will be Rs. 1,757 million or 5.1% of the Gross Domestic Product.

The government has proposed to remove the Special Commodity Levy on imported coconut oil and palm oil and implement the general tax structure including Value Added Tax.

The new tax system on imported coconut oil and palm oil will be implemented from April 2026, President Dissanayake said.

At present, locally produced coconut oil and palm oil are subjected to Value Added Tax and Social Security Contribution Levy, while imported coconut oil and palm oil are subjected to Special Commodity Levy at Rs. 150 per kilogram and Rs. 275 per kilogram, respectively.

The new tax proposal has been proposed to ensure a level playing field, the President stated.

President Dissanayake said that a total of Rs. 6,500 million has been allocated for the Clean Sri Lanka programme for next year.

President Dissanayake said that the land acquisition process for the proposed Kurunegala-Dambulla expressway is currently underway.

Accordingly, through the 2026 Budget, the government has allocated Rs. 1,000 million to complete the land acquisition process, the President said.

The government has allocated a sum of Rs. 342 billion for road development programmes in the 2026 Budget, President Dissanakaye stated. A total of Rs. 66.1 billion has been allocated for the Kadawatha-Mirigama section of the Central Expressway through the 2026 Budget.

Furthermore, Rs. 10.5 billion for the Pothuhera-Rambukkana and Rs. 20 billion for the Rambukkana-Galagedara section of the central expressway have been allocated through the Budget.

The President said that through the 2026 Budget, a sum of 25,500 million has been allocated to develop Sri Lanka’s digital economy. He also pledged to establish a Digital Economy Council next year.

The allocation will facilitate the infrastructure needs, streamlining investment processes and fostering an innovation-friendly environment.

The government has proposed to allocate an additional provision of Rs. 1,000 million to the Department of Wildlife Conservation to expedite the completion of electric fence constructions and related projects aimed at mitigating human-elephant conflict across the country, the President said.

In addition, Rs. 10 billion has been proposed for research initiatives to identify long-term, research-based solutions beyond the construction of electric fences to reduce these elephant-human conflicts, he said.

Estate worker wages are to be hiked to a total of 1,750 rupees a day, President Dissanayake said, presenting the Budget for 2026.

“We believe that estate workers should be paid a fair daily wage, commensurate with their work,” the President said.

The current minimum wage of an estate worker is 1,350 rupees a day.

An additional 200 rupees will be given daily by the government to encourage estate workers to come to work, Dissanayake said.

“This is as an incentive for them to show up for the 25 days.” The government will allocate 5,000 million rupees for this, he said.

The Budget Debate on the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill will commence on 08 November and continue for six days. The vote on the Second Reading is scheduled for 14 November (Friday) at 6 pm.

The Committee Stage Debate is set to begin on 15 November and will continue for 17 sitting days, including three Saturdays, until 05 December. The vote on the Third Reading of the Appropriation Bill is to be taken up at 6 pm on 05 December.

During the budget period, Parliament will meet daily, except on Sundays and public holidays. Sessions will begin at 9.30 am on Mondays and at 9 am on other days. Each day’s sittings will continue until 6 pm, with time from 6 to 6.30 pm allocated for adjournment motions, shared equally between the Government and the Opposition, except on voting days.

In addition, during the Committee Stage Debate, provision has been made for five Questions for Oral Answers and one Question under Standing Orders 27(2), apart from the regular business under Standing Orders 22(1) to (6).