Madu festival will be held on 14th of August

Government of Sri Lanka plans to organise Madu Festival within this month.

Minister Milroy Fernando said the festival will be held on a grand scale on the 14th and 15th of this month. The government has made preparations in this regard. On the request of the Bishop of Mannar Rev; Rayappu Joseph the government has decided to declare the area surrounding the church as a sacred premises. Mr.Fernando said government security forces have renovated the Madu Church after the recent attacks between the security forces and the LTTE.

Due to the confrontations between the LTTE and the government troops statute of the Our Lady of Madu was removed by the Church authorities and kept in a church at the LTTE control area.

He said a number of Buddhist soldiers have engaged the renovation works .

The government spent 1.5 million rupees for the renovation works and Troops liberated the Madu Church and the surrounding area from the terrorists on the 24th of April.

The government said the statue of Our Lady of Madu would be restored before the festival.

However the Sacred Madhu Shrine will be returned Before August 15 to the Madhu church, but the condition was not conducive to hold the annual feast, Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph said.

He said there was no facilities for the pilgrims from the outstations and therefore they would not have facilities and therefore it was not possible to have the feast.

He said that the government also so far had not been able to give an undertaking that a peace zone will be maintained around the church.

He said that normal mass would be held at the church and they also hope to have a purification ceremony as there has been bloodshed and violence in the area.

Meanwhile the residential Administrative Head, Rev S. Emiliyanus Pillai, along with seven more priests and two labourers officially took over the Madhu church premises.