KANDY - Boosting imported food through various means will be a challenge to the local food drive. Measures should be taken to curtail the intensive publicity campaign carried out to promote imported food items, said Governor of the Central Province Tikiri Kobbekaduwa at a workshop held at the Ayurvedic Hospital of the Central Provincial Council at Pallekele on the importance of local food consumption for students.

"Excessive publicity is given to foreign food items in Sri Lanka. Steps are taken to promote the consumption of imported food making children their tools," Governor Kobbekaduwa said.

If it was the policy of the govt, to promote local food consumption, the imported food promotion should by minimised, Kobbekaduwa said.

In the past Sri Lankans succeeded in building a proud civilization and constructed massive structures and planned a marvelous irrigation network after consuming only locally produced food. They had no imported food nor had they sophisticated machinery, the Governor noted.

It was after the colonial powers of the west dominated by imposing their authority in Sri Lanka, that the people began to consume foreign food. The imperialist rulers introduced wheat flour and other imported food items. The introduction of wheat flour and other imported food made our people suffer from various diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure and heart ailments, he said.

"It is time to go back to our past food habits and consume local food with a sense of patriotism. We have now a national leader who is patriotic in the true sense of the word . If one wants to be a patriot he should not only consume local food but encourage and promote the production of local food, the governor said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had paved the way to work towards self sufficiency with a sense of patriotism," he said.

Central Province Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine, Ediriweera Weerawardana, Provincial Agriculture Minister Nimal Piyatissa, Health Ministry Secretary Vijitha Bandara Ekanayake, Deputy Chairman Central PC W. M. Yasamana, Central PC Member (Ms) Chithra Srimathie Mantilake and Provincial Ayurvedic Commissioner Dhammika Abeygunawardana were present on the occasion.