The Director General of Government Information Professor Ariyarathne Athugala refutes the headline news item published in Thursday’s “Dinamina” newspaper under the caption “Rs. 2000 Million worth of cinema equipment imported under French Aid remain still piled up unused in a Govt. warehouse”.
The Director General says that this cinema laboratory was imported from France in the year 2003 for Rs. 120 million and not for Rs. 2000 Million as stated in the said news item and the machine is carefully preserved for use at any time. He says that after he assumed duty as the Director General of Govt. Information in April 2010, as a person who loves the cinematic field and having close connections with the cinema industry, upon discussions with the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media and Information appointed a committee in May 2010 with veterans in the cinematic field Film Director D.B.Nihalsinha in the chair and with the participation of another veteran in the field Dr. Dharmasena Pathiraja and obtained their recommendations in respect of this cinema laboratory.
The committee had pointed out that there were technical shortcomings in this machine and at the same time there were no sufficient film productions annually in this country to meet the capacity of the machine. The committee had also pointed out that although there is a film developing machine connected to this laboratory, in par with that there are no film negative printing machines attached to this machine.. The Committee was also of the opinion that this laboratory has been designed for commercial film productions hence it was no use for a service depatment of this nature.
Prof. Athugala opined that it was a wrong decision taken in 2003 to import a laboratory of this nature to a service providing institution like the Govt. Film Unit of the Government Information Department.
He further states that the then Chairman of the Film Corporation Tissa Abeysekera took this lab to its Dalugama Studio, and they returned it saying that they cannot make use of it.
He also points out that discussions were held with the famous Indian Film Production Institute, the Prasad Laboratories and they also rejected the proposal of purchasing it saying that technically advanced laboratories than this are now available at cheaper prices in India
Prof. Atugala also states that action has already been taken to submit a cabinet memorandum seeking the advice of the Cabinet of Ministers in this connection based on the committee recommendations he obtained within one month of assuming office and the COPE Committee recommendations.
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