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Other issues notwithstanding, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) leaders met to discuss matters over the November 4 budget proposals last Thursday night. Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera gave the SLFPers, for the first time, a general idea of how his budget proposals would be. The meeting was chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena.

An area of broad agreement came when Minister Samaraweera assured, at the request of SLFP ministers, that there should be proposals in the budget to bring down the cost of living. Among the other areas he had agreed to focus on were benefits to the agricultural and fisheries sectors.

Accompanying Samaraweera for the meeting were his deputy Eran Wickremeratne, Treasury Secretary R.S. Samaratunga, Deputy Secretary R.S. Attygalle and Advisor Mano Tittawala.

Rajitha cuts short nurses

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne can not only embark on drives to reduce drug prices but now wants to reduce the height of nurses to be recruited to the health sector.

When he learnt that 121 prospective applicants for the position of nurses were short by just one inch, he came out with a bright proposal.

He sought to reduce the required height from 147.3 cm to 145 cm or from 4ft 8 inches to 4ft 7 inches.

The Minister has now informed the Deputy Director General of Health Services to make a request from the Public Service Commission to consider the reduction of the required height for nurses.

Police pull down itsy bitsy billboards

After a social media uproar, the Habaraduwa Police have been forced to remove two billboards put up by its Community Police Unit near a museum and a children’s park requesting tourists to dress according to “Sri Lankan culture.”

A Habaraduwa Police officer said one billboard had been placed near the Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Museum Complex and the other at the entrance to a nearby children’s park. The billboards were nowhere near the beaches, contrary to what some had claimed, he insisted. However, both billboards were taken down after the protests.

The billboards had been put up following a proposal made at the meeting of various community police committees. The meeting is held every three months and the officer said proposal to put up the billboards came from several community police committee chairpersons.

The offending billboards showed pictures of two women in bikinis that had been marked with a red cross with the words “Improper” written in English with translations in German and Russian. The billboards drew strong condemnation on social media, with many accusing the police of behaving like a “Culture Police.”

Even the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) expressed concern over the billboards, tweeting that such “dress code policing” is unneeded and unwarranted for tourists enjoying the scenic beaches of Sri Lanka. It added that the SLTDA had taken up the matter with the relevant authorities.

Hindu stands by its story on plot

One of India’s leading journalists, N. Ram, the Editor of the Chennai-based The Hindu newspaper has responded with two different tweets over the outcome of last Tuesday’s weekly Cabinet meeting.

In one, he has said, “Our Sri Lanka Correspondent verified what she had learnt with multiple independent sources before publishing her report. Let them issue their lame denials, try to wriggle out of what was said – but we stand by our Correspondent’s meticulously fact checked story.”

In the other tweet, he has said, “Another case of saying something wild & bizarre, expecting it to remain within a closed room, and then blaming the media for the furore caused. The Hindu did its job – truth-telling: Sri Lanka govt rejects reports on Sirisena assassination plot.”

BIA runway safety area not of standard: ICAO

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has declared that the runway safety area at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is not of standard.

A runway safety area (RSA) or runway end safety area (RESA) is defined as “the surface surrounding the runway prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes. A TSA (Taxiway Safety Area) is a defined surface alongside the taxiway prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to an airplane unintentionally departing the taxiway.

Generally, on airports that serve air carrier aircraft, the RSA extends to 250 feet either side of the runway centre line and 1000 feet beyond each end of the runway in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, or excursion from the runway.

With reference to the BIA Runway Safety Team and the technical sub-committee which was appointed to seek a solution to the ICAO finding of a non-standard runway strip, Capt. Suranga Samarasinghe of SriLankan Airlines, a member of the Pilot’s Guild is to initiate measures.

This is at a meeting of the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations in Bangkok. During this course, the draft report of corrective measures to be forwarded to the ICAO, will be submitted to the body for its views and necessary changes.

To save job, uniformed man climbs tree in loin cloth

What lengths would people go to save their jobs when they become the eye of a political storm?

The uniformed man had paid visits to many a temple. However, a rather comical situation erupted in one place where the rituals he was asked to perform included climbing a kohomba tree. That, too, whilst wearing a red piece of cloth almost resembling an amudey or loin cloth.

Deviyaney or oh god said one onlooker. “If he falls, the job is gone,” he quipped in whispers.