SL President urged to hand over Mannar saltern to co-op

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 May 2004, 18:00 GMT]
Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district parliamentarian, Thursday made an urgent appeal to Sri Lanka's President, Ms.Chandrika Kumaratunge, to take immediate steps to hand over the defunct Mannar saltern to the Mannar Fisheries Co-operative Society to reactivate it. The Mannar saltern has now been under the purview of the Ministry of Enterprises, and Investment Promotion, sources said.

Before 1990 the Mannar saltern was under the Regional Office of the Salt Corporation, which was located at Palavi in Puttalam district. In 1997 the administration of the Mannar saltern was handed over to the Mannar Kachcheri in a defunct stage. The Government Agent rehabilitated it and later handed over its administration to the Board of Management appointed by him. The GA, Additional Government (Addl GA) and the Accountant of the Mannar Kachcheri were the members of the Board of Management.

Mannar GA handed over the administration of the saltern to the Mannar Fisheries Co-operative Society on February 01,2000 with a condition that it should show considerable improvement in the production for claiming permanent control of the saltern, sources said.

However, when the Mannar Fisheries Co-operative Society was about to take full control of the saltern achieving increased production, Ministry of Northern Relief and Rehabilitation took over the saltern on 24th September 2001 and the name of saltern was later changed from “ Mannar Saltern” to “ Manthai Saltern”. The Chemmani saltern in the Jaffna district was also brought under “ Manthai Saltern”. Later the Ministry of Enterprises Development and Investment Promotion took control of the saltern from the Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr.Adaikalanathan said in the letter to President Kumaratunge.

“ The salt industry in Mannar would flourish once again if the administration of saltern is handed back to the Mannar Fisheries Co-operative Society,” said Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan