President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday ceremonially declared open the 250th Reverse Osmosis (RO) unit at the Morakewa Sri Saddarmajothikarama temple premises at Ritigahawewa, Horowpathana.
The Presidential Task Force on the Prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDu) and the Sri Lanka Navy have been engaged in this initiative since December 2015, in keeping with the President's vision ‘'Wellbeing for All' as asserted in his policy statement under 'Maithri Palanayak- Sthavara Ratak'.
Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake, Rural Economic Affairs Minister P. Harrison, Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne and the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah were among the dignitaries present at the occasion.
Coinciding with the main event, the President also bestowed 10 more RO plants for the public in the Anuradhapura district through an online virtual portal.
Installation of RO plants in areas that are prone to the kidney disease is one of the many projects undertaken by the Sri Lanka Navy. The project was initially funded by the contributions from the Naval personnel.
The RO plants are produced by the Navy's Research and Development Unit. With funding from the Presidential Task Force on Prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease the Navy has installed a large number of RO plants in many parts of the island.
Thus far, 250 RO plants have been installed across the country to date, facilitating over 119,214 families and 81,690 school children with safe drinking water.
Sri Lanka Navy's initiative in providing water treatment plants (Reverse Osmosis) to areas that are most prone to Chromic Kidney Disease (CKD) has earned special recognition at an awards ceremony organized by the Japan Sri Lanka Technical & Cultural Association (JESTECA).