The 58th National New Rice Festival will be held at the foot of the Anuradhapura Sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka participating as the chief guest on April 3 and 4. Anuradhapura Agrarian Development Deputy Commissioner Kelum Dissanayaka told the Sunday Observer that at present, new rice stocks are being collected from the 25 districts to fill the giant historical bowl placed in the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi premises.
On April 3 morning at the long existing tradition milk boiling ceremony at the four gateways to be followed by other long standing religious rituals such as flower offering drumming in respect of sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi will be held before the all-night pirith chanting ceremony on April 4 early morning.
One-thousand farmer chieftains representing all 25 districts will come in a colourful procession, holding the bowls of maiden rice extracted from the 2024/25 Maha cultivation season from the lion pillar junction up to the venue of new rice festival in the sacred Bo-tree premises, where amid pirith chanting the golden rice bowl will be filled with new rice.
Atamasthanaadhipathi, the Most Ven. Pallegama Hemarathna Nayaka Thera, told the Sunday Observer that there has been an acute rice crisis in the recent past, which put the farmer and the consumer in great difficulty. The reason for such a pathetic situation is the poor administration and unsatisfactory handling of the trade, which led to a paddy and rice mafia.
There should be a permanent sustainable paddy cultivation harvesting marketing and distributing policy to remain unchanged whatever Government comes to power for the benefit of the public.
The Government must learn a lesson from what took place recently regarding the rice scarcity and price hike, and the prelate recalled the old saying the “the farmer is the power and the strength of a country”.
