From left: TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake and Hutch Chief Executive Officer Thirukumar Nadarasa connect to e-thaksalawa website

Hutch, Sri Lanka’s fast growing choice for mobile broadband services, joined forces with the Gamata Sannivedanaya project initiated by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), with the intention of providing broadband coverage to the entire country, overcoming geographical challenges. 

With the direction and support provided by the TRCSL, Hutch launched the WeniwelAra tower with the core objective of providing essential Internet connectivity for students and people in the WeniwelAra village.

WeniwelAra is a rural village situated in the Hambantota district, with a population of 2200 people comprising 600 families. At present more than 1,100 students from the village are requiring access to online education facilities. These students belong to the Viharagala Maha Vidyalaya, which is in close proximity to the WeniwelAra village. 
WeniwelAra Purana Viharaya, which is the main community centre of the village and adjudged the best Sunday school in the Hambantota district for three consecutive years, will also be benefiting with proper Internet coverage for the first time.

Commenting on the project, Hutch CEO Thirukumar Nadarasa said, “We are indeed happy to support the students in the WeniwelAra village and adjacent areas, fulfilling their Internet requirements, which is a critical need at this time. At present, online education has become the only viable mode of access to education, it is essential to equip these rural villages with Internet facilities and provide equal opportunities for all students to continue their studies. I thank the DG TRCSL for taking up this important national initiative and working with the industry to 
deliver results.” 

TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake acknowledging the efforts of Hutch said, “We highly appreciate Hutch for extending its support towards this nationwide initiative, which plays a vital role in the digital inclusion efforts of the country. This project is mainly targeted at rural communities, where people often face connectivity issues. As of now, online learning is part of our lives, so we believe that the Gamata Sannivedanaya project will support empowerment of students for e-education as well as accelerating technology diffusion across many industries. This islandwide project will ensure to make network solutions accessible for everyone irrespective of their region.”