Light work of necessity in Vanni

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 June 2001, 06:54 GMT]
An improvised tin-lamp using waste plastics to produce light is one of the 72 new inventions of the students in the northeast province displayed at the two-day exhibition inaugurated Sunday morning in Trincomalee St.Mary's College. The improvised lamp is one of the inventions by students of Vanni region held by Liberation Tigers, which is under an economic blockade by the Sri Lankan government.

This type of lamps is currently used by the people of Vanni region to overcome the acute shortage of kerosene due to embargo. Electricity supply is not provided to Vanni region.

People in the region depend on a small quantity of kerosene permitted to be taken in. Students find difficult to study without proper light facilities, and hence the invention of a lamp manufactured from discarded tins, using waste plastics to produce light.

The Sri Lanka Inventors' Commission in collaboration with the Northeast Provincial Ministry of Education has organized the two-day exhibition. Northeast Provincial Director of Education Mr.E.Sivanandan declared the event open Sunday morning

"The exhibition of this nature are being held throughout the country on provincial basis to bring the hidden skills of the students to light, to create an awareness among school children about the invention and to eliminate the fear that exist in students to make invention", said a spokesman of the Sri Lanka Invention Commission.