The Hon. Gamagedara Dissanayake - Deputy Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, I answer the question.

¶ 02 (a) (i) There is no museum belonging to the Department of Archaeology near Avissawella Town. However, there is a museum being operated there by the Central Cultural Fund (CCF).

¶ 03 Given that, the other questions are not applicable. Nevertheless, to meet the Hon. Member’s intent:

¶ 04 (ii) Construction activities were carried out on 2024.05.10. It was opened for public exhibitions on 2024.07.21.

¶ 05 (iii) Expenditure on construction: Rs. 14,605,466.68.

¶ 06 (iv) There are seven persons engaged in daily duties: - One graduate trainee handling basic operations. - One casual female worker for ticket sales and publication/photograph sales. - Two persons for exhibition-related work. - Three persons for security work. All are engaged on contract basis.

¶ 07 (v) The land has been leased by the Sri Lanka Railways Department for this purpose.

¶ 08 (vi) The lease is in favour of the Central Cultural Fund, which manages the museum. Details are provided in Annex 01 (placed in the Library).

¶ 09 (b) (i) The number of artefacts included in the museum is listed in Annex 01.

¶ 10 (ii) No specific time-period classification has been finalized for the artefacts; hence periods are not recorded.

¶ 11 (iii) Yes. Income is generated through ticket sales to visitors.

¶ 12 (iv) Income details are in Annexes 02, 03, 04 and 05. Reported totals include Rs. 233,820 (cumulative recent period) and Rs. 205,920 (for the last year indicated). The museum commenced in 2024; figures provided relate to 2024 and 2025.

¶ 13 (c) Not applicable.

¶ 14 To reiterate: there is no Department of Archaeology museum near Avissawella; a museum is operated by the CCF. Annexes 01–05 have been placed in the Library.