Dialog Axiata partners with the Ministry of Environment to empower "Husma Dena Thuru" Initiative

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Mr. Harsha Samaranayake , Senior General Manager, Brands & Media, Dialog Axiata PLC, Dr. Anil Jasinghe – Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera – Minister of Environment, Dr. Nihal Jayatilake – Chairman, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Sarath Chandrasiri Withana - Advisor to Minister of Environment.

Exchange of MoU by Mr. Harsha Samaranayake - Senior General Manager, Dialog Axiata PLC (left) and Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera - Minister of Environment. Dr. Anil Jasinghe – Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Dr. Nihal Jayatilake – Chairman, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation also in the picture

Hon. Mahinda Amaraweema - Minister of Environment (right) symbolically hands over a plant to Harsha Samaranayake - Senior General Manager, Brand and Media, Dialog Axiata PLC.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), Dialog Axiata PLC (Dialog) signed an MoU to empower the "Nakethata Palayak" programme under the "Husma Dena Thuru" initiative, in lieu of the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year. These two programmes were initiated to create awareness and inculcate a culture of preservation and urban forestry across Sri Lankan homes.

The "Nakethata Palayak" initiative aims to promote urban forestry at homes during this Sinhala and Tamil New Year, where if one home plants one seedling during the designated ‘tree planting’ auspicious time at 6.40 AM on 16th April 2021, 5 million trees would be planted across the nation simultaneously. This initiative strives to invoke a sense of motivation, further uniting the citizens of Sri Lanka to work towards a common environmental goal for the betterment of the nation.

With climate change posing as a growing global threat, the 'Husma Dena Thuru' campaign was implemented by the Ministry of Environment, to increase the country's forest density to 30% and with the objective to reduce the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while creating a healthy, habitable environment. The two initiatives will pave a path towards a greener community and healthier lifestyle for generations to come.