The Hon. M.S. Abthul Wazeeth

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to second the Private Member’s Motion brought by the Hon. Hesha Withanage.

¶ 03 In Pottuvil DS Division of Ampara District, there is still no public modern sports ground. This is a concern for our youth. Over 2,000 youths, through 40 sports clubs and 40 youth clubs, are showcasing their talents despite having to play on unsuitable grounds. Many from our area have excelled at zonal, divisional, district, provincial, national and international levels; I have highlighted this here many times. Ten acres of State land at Sarvodaya Puram have been identified for a public modern ground. I request the Minister to take steps to establish this ground within this year.

¶ 04 Further, to enable schoolchildren to prove their talents, I request that playing-field facilities be provided to the following schools in Pottuvil: Urani Saraswathy Vidyalayam, Nooraniya Vidyalaya, Al-Munawwara Vidyalaya, Al-Aksha Vidyalaya, Al-Irfan Ladies College, Minarul Uloom Vidyalaya, Al-Hudha Vidyalaya, Hijra Vidyalaya, Pottuvil Methodist Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Dharul Falah Vidyalaya.

¶ 05 Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Ministry has called for applications to fill about 216 vacancies to strengthen Youth Services. About 52,000 applications have been received, and first-round interviews are underway. Among these are 76 Youth Services Officer posts; others are for positions such as 14SO and KKS. In Ampara District, only Pottuvil and Lahugala have YSO vacancies. Presently, volunteers are serving in these two DS areas: Mr. M.A.M. Noufal in Pottuvil and Mr. M.L. Sulaiyman in Lahugala. I urge the Ministry to appoint these long-serving volunteers as Assistant Youth Services Officers during this recruitment, as appointing locals will greatly help our youth to fully develop their talents in sports.

¶ 06 Hon. Deputy Speaker, regarding Irakkamam DS Division, all court matters have so far been before the Ampara Court. However, based on the 2021 committee recommendation to re-demarcate court jurisdictions, it was proposed that court cases of 12 GN divisions in Irakkamam DS should come under the Akkaraipattu Court, mainly due to language reasons. I request the Minister to accept and implement this request urgently.

¶ 07 Further, as a long-standing demand of the people of Irakkamam DS Division, the Government should establish a separate Electricity Consumer Service Centre. When other State offices like the Divisional Secretariat, Pradeshiya Sabha, MOH and Police are separate, why not this service? I request the Power Minister to establish a Consumer Service Centre covering all 12 GN divisions in Irakkamam and to expedite action, as currently our people must go to three different centres — Ampara, Akkaraipattu and Hingurana. With that reminder, I conclude. Thank you.

¶ 08 Question proposed.