US restores Eastern markets as economic and social centres

Partnership with Hellenic Aid at Anuradhapura Junction:

The US Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with Hellenic Aid, broke ground this week on a project to rebuild the Anuradhapura Junction Market that promises to restore the market as a centre for commerce and a place of social interaction.

US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission James R. Moore, along with Trincomalee Government Agent Major Gen. T. T. R. Silva and Trincomalee Urban Council Chairman S. G. Mugunthan, inaugurated the market, which is being restored under a grant to the Czech Republic-based humanitarian NGO People In Need and co-funded by Hellenic Aid, the development arm of the Greek Government.

"The US Government is proud to be able to contribute to the refurbishment of this market, which is important to the economic and social life of Trincomalee," Moore said at the groundbreaking.

"The coming months and years will be a decisive and an exciting period for Trincomalee and the East.

We hope there will be new opportunities for people of all communities - Tamil, Muslim, and Sinhalese - to share in development, exercise their democratic rights, pursue their livelihoods, and build a brighter future," he said.

The project was developed following a consultative process with Government officials and local residents who identified the market as a top priority.

The project will rehabilitate infrastructure including buildings, electricity and water connections, toilets, drainage, parking lots, composting and garbage collection facilities, as well as build the capacity of the Trincomalee Urban Council staff and the newly revitalised vendors association, which will maintain the market.

Moore also dedicated a new market in the coastal Muslim fishing village of Kinniya, which was badly devastated by the tsunami.

The rehabilitated facility will provide fisher folk a central location to sell their products directly to consumers, improving the monetary yields from their daily catches.

"This market promises to help improve the lives of the people of Kinniya," Moore said at the dedication.

"In addition to being a gathering place where fish can be sold in sanitary conditions, the new market is an attractive building that will serve as a source of pride for the entire community."