Mass Media, Transport and Highways Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardane said weekend luxury special trains for local and foreign visitors visiting tourist hot spots including Kataragama, Kandy and Anuradhapura during weekends will be started.
The Minister said that the support of the private sector and the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) will also be sought for the program.
The Minister said this at a media conference at the Government Information Department last week.
He said that discussions will be held in the future to get the contribution of the private sector to establish restaurants and sanitary facilities for tourists in the luxury train network connecting locations. He said the newly launched train service to Badulla has seen a strong demand from tourists and seats are already booked for the next several weeks.
Due to the high cost of private transportation, the Railways Department has been informed to create a special tourist train program during the weekends,” he said.
The Minister said he hopes to provide a special train from Colombo to Beliatta for Kataragama pilgrims during the weekends.
He said a combined service from Beliatta to Kataragama by private and SLTB buses will be provided which will also facilitate visitors to return the next day to Beliatta on the same buses.
He said plans were afoot to provide public transport facilities by using trains and buses for pilgrims visiting Anuradhapura.
Discussions are under way to deploy a special weekend tourist train to the city, he added.
The Minister said that the postal authorities of Sri Lanka and India have decided to issue two stamps to mark India’s 75th Independence Day.
In line with the celebrations of India’s 75th Independence Day on August 15, 2022, it has been proposed to issue two stamps each based on the theme of democracy and to reflect the parliaments of the two countries.
Some 5,000 stamps, 3,000 souvenir cards and 2,000 first day covers are expected to be exchanged between the two countries.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Mass Media Minister to sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the postal departments of both countries for this purpose.
The Government has taken measures to establish a Higher Education, Research and Training Institute for media professionals to enhance in the field of mass media, Minister Gunawardane said.
The Cabinet of Ministers previously approved a proposal for the establishment of the Institute of Chartered Journalists of Sri Lanka and a Committee chaired by the Mass Media Ministry Secretary to be appointed for organising activities related to the establishment of the institution and the committee has already prepared a draft.
During this week’s Cabinet meeting, Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Mass Media Minister to prepare a bill by the Legal Draftsman’s Department based on the Committee report.
Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers has also been granted to revise the name of the proposed institute from “Sri Lanka Chartered Institute for Journalists” to “Sri Lanka Chartered Institute for Media Professionals - Sri Lanka”.