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Home » NewsA harvest dream gone with the floods
One of the worst disasters in the three-week flood and landslide havoc is seen in this picture of Saliyawewa paddy fields in the Puttalam District. Some 700 acres of paddy cultivation and its whole harvest have been washed away together with the fertile soil also while a dejected farmer looks at the remains of [...]
Disaster at Disaster Management Centre
Billions of rupees worth of equipment to effectively cope with natural disasters have become unusable because they have been left idle after being procured by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) on foreign loans and grants. These include tsunami-warning towers, emergency call centres and satellite communications systems. In last month’s worst-ever floods and landslides, the use [...]
New tax stands; 400 luxury vehicles stuck in port
The Finance Ministry has ruled out the provision of concessions to vehicle importers who have protested against the imposition of a heavy tax from last week. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the new tax was justified because it would help solve issues related to undervaluation of vehicles. Most importers this week held back clearing of their [...]
To ease traffic, light rail services and passenger boats
Colombo and its suburbs are to have an integrated transport system linking up roads, rail and water transport routes. The proposals for the US$ 11.4 billion project have been included in the Megapolis traffic plan intended to reduce heavy traffic congestion in the city and the suburbs. This has been approved by the Cabinet for [...]
Flood havoc: Alternative land to resettle 6,000 families
Alternative land is being sought to resettle up to 6,000 families living in areas vulnerable to landslides and floods, officials said. The directive was given to government officials by President Maithripala Sirisena at a meeting on Friday. Disaster Management Ministry Secretary S.S. Niyanwala told the Sunday Times officials were told to look for state and [...]
Lanka faces Zika threat, strict airport monitoring essential
The main vectors of the Zika virus are present across Sri Lanka and, as one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the risk of infection through mosquito bites or sexual transmission remains “a major concern”, researchers in Singapore warn. “Should Zika not be currently present in Sri Lanka, it is highly likely [...]
Bidding suspended as storm brews over Chunnakam wind power plants
The Power and Renewable Energy Ministry has suspended the competitive bidding process for two 10 Megawatt wind power plants in Chunnakam in the North after ‘concerns’ were raised by the Treasury. Power and Renewable Energy Deputy Minister Ajith Perera said the bidding process would remain suspended until the concerns raised by the Treasury were addressed. [...]
JO’s No-Confidence against Ravi K.: Debate, vote on Wednesday
A No-Confidence motion against Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, handed over in March by the Joint Opposition (JO) group, will be taken up for debate on Wednesday. The No-Confidence motion alleging serious mismanagement of the economy since Mr Karunanayaka took over as Finance Minister, is signed by more than 40 JO MPs. In the motion, the [...]
Officialdom replaces damaged statue now in museum following restoration
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs is yet to conclude its probe into the incident of an Anuradhapura-era Buddha statue being damaged at an exposition at Temple Trees. However, the restored statue is back on display at the National Museum, ministry officials and museum staff said. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s office [...]
Assault on Meepura editor : Two arrested
Two suspects were arrested yesterday in connection with the attack on a web journalist from Negombo, police said. A Negombo Municipal Council (NMC) worker and his brother were arrested and remanded until June 14 over the attack on Freddy Gamage, editor of Meepura website, Chief Inspector Samanthilaka Weliwita Officer-in-Charge of Negombo Police said. Mr. Gamage [...]
Coal to LNG: CEB Unions say act wisely
Amidst Government moves to convert the Sampur coal power plant to liquefied natural gas (LNG), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) engineers are protesting that it is not prudent to make such decisions “in an ad hoc manner”. LNG-based thermal plants have been considered as candidate plants in the Long Term Generation Expansion Plans of the CEB [...]
US Army personnel at on-going clean-up efforts
Women US Army personnel are seen assisting in the on-going clean-up efforts in Brandiyawatte, Kolonnawa following the devastating floods.
Lanka Hospital Directors werepaid Rs 13.68m for 19 meetings in 2015
The Board of Directors of Lanka Hospitals, numbering 23, were paid allowances amounting to Rs 13.68 million in 2015, for attending 19 Board meetings, according to documents tabled in Parliament recently. The Board of Directors for 2015 included Dr Sarath Paranavitana and the Ven Thiniyawala Palitha Thera. The payments made were as under: Dr Paranavitana [...]
Two key personnel desert drug authority
The lackadaisical attitude of the Government in providing the necessary staff and infrastructure to carry out the monumental task of the National Medicinal Regulatory Authority (NMRA)/ has led to the resignation of two key personnel last week. Chairman Prof. Lal Jayakody and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Prof. Krishantha Weerasuriya had tended their resignation from the [...]
Destruction in Ariyagama Chilaw by recent heavy rains
More than 15 houses in Ariyagama Chilaw were destroyed when the Deduru Oya burst its banks during the recent heavy rains.
Jaya’s shaky hold on T’Nadu depends largely on Lankan sideshow
After winning the 2016 Tamil Nadu (TN) Assembly election held on May 16 by a whisker, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has intensified her aggressive stance against the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), ostensibly to appease the miniscule Tamil chauvinists within the State. She has already written two letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining against [...]
Rape of wetland leads to floody hell
The residents of Joy Lanka Watta, a housing scheme in Kohilawatta on the outskirts of Colombo, still remember the lake. It had stretched out for as far as the eye could see. In the early mornings, the air echoed with birdsong. People had fished there, or waded into its still waters to pick red lotuses [...]
Child survivors speak of life in camps
Sixteen-year-old N.D. Saumya Dilki has lost interest in school. The grade 11 student of Hathgampala Maha Vidyalaya is due to sit her GCE (Ordinary Level) Examination this year. However, the landslide at Samasara Hill in Aranayake has tragically altered her life forever. She lost both her father and her younger brother that day when their [...]
Flood e-waste hazard warning
Electronic waste (e-waste) items such as television sets, fridges, computers and small electronic devices that have been destroyed by the floods have been dumped in huge piles mixed in with household waste. Flood victims who now have nothing left are beginning to reconstruct their lives by gathering what they can, discarding the rest to simply [...]
Dambulla cave temple vandalised
Investigations are underway to arrest a group of unidentified individuals who caused damage to ancient Buddha statues, paintings and stone inscriptions (sel lipi) at the Dambulla cave temple. The suspects had vandalized the site by scribbling in Sinhalese and English on the religious artefacts. The Chief Incumbent of the Dambulla Raja Maha Viharaya, Inamaluwe Sri [...]
Negombo’s endemic natural resources vital for its development: Residents
Government officials and residents of Negombo say that if the proposed development of their city under the Megalopolis and Western Development Ministry is to be a success, it is vital that the endemic natural resources of the area are protected, nourished and maintained, not destroyed in the name of development. Negombo Divisional Secretary A.K.R. Alawaththa [...]
This was once her humble home
A woman affected by the floods in Sedawatte, Wellampitiya returns to the place where her home once stood, only to find no structure left, and clothes and other belongings strewn all over.
Police told to re-investigate ragging complaint
A magistrate has ordered the police to re-investigate a complaint made by a female student who alleged she was inhumanely ragged by a group of senior students at the Institute of Indigenous Medicine (IIM) in Rajagiriya. The order this week came following objections raised by the female student’s lawyer, Shantha Herath. The lawyer told Colombo’s [...]
Man dies after dog bite and fall
A retired railway employee died a day after he was admitted to the National Hospital for dog bites and injuries he suffered when he hit his head on a concrete flower pot, a coroner’s court was told. Indrani de Silva, widow of 62-year-old Ajith Kumara Perera, told Coroner Ashroff Rumi that their German Shepherd dog [...]
Melioidosis: A deadly bug hiding under another identity
It is a bug which is a ‘great mimic’ that can very easily lead doctors up the garden path to a different diagnosis ultimately ending in death. Hiding under the guise of Leptospirosis or Rat Fever, it rises rapidly from muddy and watery soil not only during the monsoons but also disasters such as the [...]
Aid but no relief: Victims empty-handed while donations pour in
Local and foreign relief aid is piling up for flood victims but lack of coordination between government agencies and independent relief teams is affecting distribution, a survey in the affected areas revealed. Hundreds of volunteers working with different organisations and even individuals offering help in Colombo, its suburbs and other districts were found extending help [...]
Skill of hospital staff saves bright child’s life
As he walks in shyly and hesitantly into the auditorium, clasping his Thaththa’s hand tightly and later into the cafeteria trailed by his Amma and his Nangi, he is the star attraction. “Me Embilipitiye babane,” the staff murmur and gather around him and his family to ask after his health. It was not that long [...]
Megapolis transport plan on fast track
With the number of people entering Colombo daily expected to rise by about one million in the next four years amid nightmares of mega-scale traffic snarls, transport plans befitting a megapolis have already been drawn up, the Sunday Times learns. Megapolis and Western Development Minister Champika Ranawaka, a Moratuwa University alumnus, told the Sunday Times [...]
37 hospitals to reopen after deal with doctors
Thirty-seven rural hospitals that were closed because of a lack of doctors, are soon to reopen as part of a compromise reached this week between the Health Ministry and the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA). The matter was resolved after extensive discussions were held regarding the dispute over post-internship appointments that saw the GMOA resorting [...]
Photo focus: Nature’s wrath wreaks havoc in NCP
Several areas in the North Central province suffered severe damage as a result of last month’s devastating floods. Farming communities are among the worst affected. The damage is so severe that many farmers believe it would take years for them to recover from the disaster. Around 400 houses in the Neelabemma farming colony in Karuwalagaswewa [...]