The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of 11 Nenasalas (Wisdom Outlets) said that out of the 4% persons ICT literate in 2005, 3% were from Colombo and only 1% was from rural areas. The contribution of the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) towards implementing the Mahinda Chinthana Policy statement of the government was remarkable.

The flagship project in this regard was the 1,000 Nensala projects implemented by ICTA. This was carried out based on a concept of President Rajapaksa for making the dividends of ICT accrue to all the people, the Minister pointed out.

Eleven new Nenasalas were set up in the Kurunegala and Puttalam districts on Saturday. According to ICTA, these Nenasalas are set up under the ‘1000 Nenasala’ progrm implemented based on a concept of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for empowering the rural community via information and communication technology. These Nenasalas are equipped with modern ICT facilities including internet.

ICTA sources pointed out that it is significant that 11 Nenasalas were inaugurated on a single day and that it is hoped that by the end of the year, the target of 1,000 outlets could be reached.

Special Reporter