Accordingly, the Finance Minister has given his approval for the proposal to distribute motorbikes to journalists at concessionary rates. Applications will be entertained next Sunday from journalists through a newspaper advertisement for granting of duty free motorbike, said the Media Ministry Secretary Karunaratne Paranavithana.

Paranavithana emphasised that the applicants should be a citizen of Sri Lanka with five years of experience in the industry and be a registered member of the Department of Government Information.

Parallel to this welfare upgrading programme, the Minister said that a 1,500 housing complex dedicated for media personnel would be constructed in a land which belonged to the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), in Diyagama.

He pointed out that the memorandum for the housing project for media personnel will be forwarded to the Cabinet soon. Also a Cabinet memorandum with respect to the investment on this housing scheme too will be submitted to the Cabinet.

"When I took over as the Mass Media Minister, I made a promise to media personnel that I would consider their welfare. A house of their own was a dream for most of them. Therefore, the completion of this project would greatly benefit them,” he added.