Adding another jewel to their crown, Mlesna Tea - Sri Lanka's premium brand of superior quality teas - ceremoniously opened their 15th Tea Center at the Kandy City Centre. The ceremony was graced by a distinguished gathering including the Governor of the Central Province.

The newest Mlesna Tea Centre comprises of a beautifully designed cozy restaurant where tea connoisseurs can enjoy their favourite cup of tea alongside the tea shop which is merchandised with over 102 varieties of teas including speciality regional teas, exotic flavoured teas and organic teas, dressed in classy and eye catching packaging to cater to the delectable tastes of tea lovers. The well designed interior of the Tea Centre is adorned with carefully hand-picked paintings which, together with the special lighting effects, create an ambience in which visitors can wholly enjoy the tea experience offered by one of the leaders in the tea industry. The symbolic stonewall that adorns the Tea Centre creates synergy and also help customers to easily identify and relate to Mlesna.

The exquisite teas available at the Tea Centre range from flower flavours such as jasmine, rose, earl grey, mint, apple blossom to fruit flavours such as melon, pineapple, strawberry, mango, orange and blueberry. In addition, spiced tea flavours with cardamom, ginger and cinnamon are also available to offer a complete range of teas to the customers.

Mlesna Tea which is packed in porcelain figurines such as elephants, tea pots and other ornamental designs are also available at the Tea Centre and are ideally suitable for gifts.

"Since its inception in 1983, whilst exporting our fine quality teas to the international markets, Mlesna Tea has served our connoisseur tea lovers in Sri Lanka and set up Tea Centres in key destinations around the country serving fine quality Ceylon Teas" said Anselm B. Perera - Chairman and Managing Director of Mlesna (Ceylon) Ltd.

"The opening of the Tea Centre will adorn the splendour of the Kandy City Centre offering the widest range of speciality teas in the most exquisite packaging for the ultimate choice of the most discerning tea connoisseur. We invite our dear guests to savour the flavour of Mlesna Tea in our new superior ambience, our tradition since 1983" he further added.

Mlesna is truly an international company enjoying a growing clientele in over 50 countries including Canada, Russia, UK, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Italy, Holland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Maldives, Australia and the Middle East with a product range exceeding 3500 items. The superior quality of Mlesna products is proven by the over 78 accolades that it has won including 9 World Star Awards for packaging excellence and superior quality products awarded by the World Packaging Organisation.

Mlesna Tea Centres are also located in the Hilton Colombo, Hilton Colombo Residencies, Galadari Hotel, Crescat Boulevard, Majestic City, Liberty Plaza, Colombo International Airport, Katunayake, Taj Airport Garden Hotel, Beruwala, Bandarawela, Tea Fortress, Peradeniya, and Dalada Veediya in Kandy and the Tea Castle in St. Clair, Talawakelle.

Kandy district tops the list in air pollution in Sri Lanka. Its air is polluted three times more than the air in Colombo, Peradeniya University Chemistry Department Head Prof. O. A. Illeperuma said. Prof Illeperuma who has conducted research said people in the Kandy town continue to suffer as a result of polluted air within the city.

"The gravity of the situation was pointed out over and over again, but still the authorities have not paid attention. I believe this is a critical issue that the President should intermediate," he said.

Kandy town has a population of approximately 120,000 people and in addition over 100,000 people come to the city daily.

Its area is 26 km2, and about 1,00,000 vehicles enter the city daily leading to high traffic congestion.

The smoke released by the vehicles is the main reason for pollution. The extent of pollution is greater in the morning and evening, he said. Prof. Illeperuma suggested to adopt a special traffic program within the city to control the situation.

"Due to traffic congestion, vehicles travel at four kilometres per hour, whereas they could travel 40 kilometres per hour.

Buses racing on first gear at all bus stops for a long time has also contributed to air pollution. Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxide, Carbon Monoxide and particles in the air are high and these continue to grow rapidly," he said.

The geography in the Kandy town has resulted in the high rate of air pollution, even though a greater number of vehicles and industries exist in Colombo. Kandy is surrounded mainly by Hantana Hunnasgiriya mountain ranges, and Bahirawa, Kurusa and Darmaraja mountains.

"Therefore the wind coming to the city goes up after striking on the mountains. Kandy town is in a low lying area and its condition is similar to a bottom of a basin. The Colombo city experiences less air pollution, since it has continuous air circulation with sea wind.

Colombo is in a flat ground and the pollutants that contaminate the air goes up without remaining in the city" he said.

"Schoolchildren in the Kandy have become victims of this situation, and as reported, breathing illnesses among them such as asthma have increased. Urgent action should be taken to control this situation without delay," Illeperuma said.