The inaugural ceremony of distributing 20 kg of rice to 16000 Fishing families was held under the auspices of the Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda at Mullaitheevu and Point Pedro.

Minister further stated during the visits made by him and the Prime Minister in China necessary arrangements were made to obtain this to encourage the Fishing Community, and accordingly, the Chinese Government provided this rice to the Fishing Community in the Northern and Eastern Provinces for their upliftment, as a result of diplomatic ties of the Chinese Government with H.E the president. The Minister further stated that the Chinese Government has agreed to provide fishing accessories to the fishermen island-wide, in the future.

The Minister also said that he has instructed the Director General of the Fisheries Department to take necessary steps to distribute the rice stock to the Fishermen through Rural Fishery Societies. Many officials including the Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries Mr. Nishantha Wickremasinghe and the Director General of the Fisheries Department Mr. Susantha Kahawaththa attended this event.