• Everything possible should be manufactured here

Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said Sri Lanka could come out of this crisis if everything possible is manufactured and everything cultivable is cultivated here.

He said the national flags that fluttered in Sri Lanka in view of Independence Day had been manufactured in China. 

‘Now Vesak season is coming up. At that time, we used to make lanterns using reeds. Now they are also imported,” he said.

He said it had been difficult to find dollars for such imports.  “The present crisis has afforded us the opportunity to think afresh. We need to manufacture everything possible here,” he said.