Thursday, March 6, 2014

மட்டகளப்பில் மனதை கவர்ந்த ஐந்தூரிய பூச்செடி வளர்ப்பு




-ரி.எல்.ஜவ்பர்கான்

மட்டக்களப்பு, பெரிய உப்போடை பிரதேசத்தில் வசிக்கும்; ஓய்வுபெற்ற அரசாங்க உத்தியோகத்தரான சசிகலா ரட்ணகுமார் என்பவர் ஐந்தூரியம் பூச்செடிகளை வளர்ப்பதில் மிகவும் ஆர்வம் காட்டிவருகின்றார்.

1990ஆம் ஆண்டிலிருந்து இதில் ஆர்வம் காட்டிவரும் இவர்,  முதலில் ஒரேயொரு ஐந்தூரியம் பூச்செடியை வளர்க்கத் தொடங்கி தற்போது சுமார் கால் ஏக்கரில்  500 இற்கும் அதிகமான 23 வகையான ஐந்தூரிய பூச்செடிகளை வளர்த்துவருகிறார். சிவப்பு, றோஸ்,  வெள்ளையென பல வர்ணங்களில் துலங்கும் ஐந்தூரியம் பூங்காவிற்குள் நுழைந்தால் குட்டி நந்தவனமாக காட்சி தருகிறது.

இதனைத் தனது முழுநேரத் தொழிலாகக் கொண்டுள்ள இவர், தினமும் 300 முதல் 1,000 ரூபாவரை இதன் மூலம்  சம்பாதிப்பதாக அவர் கூறுகிறார்.

இந்த பூச்செடிகளை தனியாகவும் பூச்சாடிகளிலும் வளர்த்துவருவதுடன்,  இவை  திருமண விழாக்கள்,  மரணச்சடங்குகள், வரவேற்பு வைபவங்கள் உள்ளிட்ட பல்வேறு நிகழ்வுகளுக்கும் விற்பனையாவதாகவும் அவர் கூறினார்.

இவரது குட்டி நந்தவனத்தை பலரும்  பார்வையிட்டு வருகின்றனர்.




Saturday, January 18, 2014

Largest steamer shipwreck discovered off Batticaloa

The wreck of a steamer discovered off the coast of Batticaloa has been identified by the Galle Maritime Archeology Unit (MAU) to be the largest such shipwreck discovered in Sri Lankan waters.  

Official records indicate that the wreck is that of the steamer Sir John Jackson, which was wrecked on Brennus Shoal in the Navaladi lagoon off Batticaloa on September 26, 1908, according to Galle MAU’s Rukshan Priyandana.

which was found off the coast of Batticaloa in the Nawala – adi lagoon

The unit was initially alerted to the wreck by a local diver named G. Yogaraja, he added. The steamer weighs 4231 tons and had been built in 1905 by the Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. It had been registered with the Westminister Shipping Co. Ltd in London.
http://www.nation.lk/edition/images/2014/01/19/main/P8180055.jpgAccording to official records, the steamer was enroute to London via Colombo from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in Vietnam, carrying a cargo of rice and wheat, when it struck the Brennus Shoal and sank.   It is believed the Captain of the vessel had made a mistake and taken the steamer too close to shore while trying to use as a guide, the lamps put up by fishermen on shore in order to make their fishing activities easier.
The vessel had five boilers and two propellers. However, one propeller had broken off when the vessel sank and was found some distance away. Maritime archaeologists said the shipwreck of another vessel was located in close proximity to the Sir John Jackson.
Over the course of time, the shipwreck had become a home for corals and many species of ornamental fish. It has been attracting local and foreign diving enthusiasts for some time and Priyandana said it has the potential to be developed as tourist attraction for divers.
The Galle Maritime Archaeology Unit has so far located 17 shipwrecks along the country’s eastern coast.

The vessel that had sunk weighed 4231 tons.

 




























- See more at: http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-online/item/24945-largest-steamer-shipwreck-discovered-off-batticaloa.html#sthash.QbnFE27U.dpuf

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Batticaloa District is the poorest district in the country

Batticaloa District in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka has declared 2014 as the Economic Development Year, a government minister said.
Deputy Economic Minister M.L.A.M. Hisbullah has said that Batticaloa District is the poorest district in the country and that 2014 will be the Economic Development Year in the district.
He told the media that 20 percent of the population in the district lives below the poverty line and the efforts are being focused on reducing the poverty level to 5 percent.
According to Hisbullah, 12 percent of the population in the district lived under the poverty line during the war and it has increased to 20 percent in the last five years.
According to the national poverty statistics, all the districts except Batticaloa and Ampara in the Eastern Province reported significant poverty reductions since 2006/07. However, the poverty level increased in Batticaloa district from a 10.7 percent in 2006/07 to 20.3 percent in 2009/10, the highest among all districts in the nation, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey.
The Minister said the government and the provincial authorities are working to reduce the percentage of people who live below the poverty line in the Batticaloa District.