National Namal Gardens vested in a trust under Sri Lanka President's son

The custody of Sri Lanka's historic National Namal Garden has been vested in a newly formed special trust chaired by President's son MP Namal Rajapaksa.

The trust was formed on a proposal made by the former custodian Venerable Wanawasi Rahula thera.

President's parliamentary secretary Kumarasiri Hettige is to function as the secretary of the trust. Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratna and MP A.S.M. Aswar were the witnesses of the agreement signed today at the Temple Trees.

The National Namal Uyana (Garden) located in Galkiriyagama, in North Central Province, 158 miles north of Colombo, is a historic iron wood (na trees) forest with the largest pink quartz mountain in South Asia.

On May 8, 2005, then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open the 970-hectares forest as a National Forest Reserve.