KATUNAYAKE : Poson Full-Moon Poya Day is celebrated to mark the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC, a festival of great historical and religious significance celebrated island-wide by Buddhists. Our affinity for Nature and the Environment goes back all the way to that initial interaction between Arahat Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa (307-267 BC).
Commemorating the occasion took place over 2,000 years ago when Arahat Mahinda brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka, a ‘Herbal Garden’ project was declared open on 24th June 2021 at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) to reduce the carbon footprint to compensate for greenhouse gases emitted from aircraft.
Over 1,000 Red Sandalwood (රත් හදුන්) plants will be planted in a one-hectare land within the Herbal Garden at the MRIA. Symbolizing the opening of the Herbal Garden, four hundred Red Sandalwood saplings were planted with the participation Rajiv Sooriyaarachchi, Vice-Chairman AASL, members of the Board of Directors of AASL, senior officers and other staff of AASL/MRIA.
The herbal garden project is an initiative of Major General (Rtd.) G. A. Chandrasiri, Chairman, AASL following President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s program ‘Nidahase Husma’ (නිදහසේ හුස්ම), which comes under his policy ‘Vision of Prosperity and Splendour’, that emphasizes the importance of increasing the country’s green cover.
