CEB going for private sector power plants
The CEB has planned a series of power projects with the support of the
private sector to be implemented this year to avoid a further power crisis
in the future.
The CEB which is in a financial crisis has app-ealed to the private
sector to commence power projects.
Minister of Power and Energy Karu Jayasuriya said that the CEB was looking
at buying power and has already appealed to foreign companies to help salvage
the CEB.
'The CEB will formulate several power projects with the cooperation
of the private sector.
We have got a good response from them and hope to start the proje-ctsimmediately"
he said.
The first project which would commence next month is a 20 MW diesel
plant in Matara.
A 110 MW combined cycle plant at Kelanitissa will also be commenced
in June.
The CEB has also taken a policy decision to go ahead with the con-troversial
coal power plant project which would be undertaken by the private sector
and com-pleted in 2007.
Although the CEB is yet to decide on the location it is hoped to commence
the project shortly.
The CEB has also appealed to the public to conserve energy in order
to avoid aggravating the power crisis.
Mystery behind abduction
By Tania Fernando
A boy in his early 20s was said to have been assaulted and put in a van
which drove off, while hundreds of people stood watching the incident at
Mabola junction last Wednesday evening.
According to eye-witnesses, at around 5.30 p.m., the boy had been chased
by four men in Army uniform and another in civilian clothing.
When The Sunday Times visited the site, eye witnesses to the incident
were not willing to give details. They, however, confirmed that such an
incident had taken place but were not sure of the details and felt there
was a big mystery behind the whole issue.
They very reluctantly said the boy had been chased along the road, while
the vehicle the men came in was parked in the middle of the road causing
a traffic jam.
Even though the boy had tried to elude his pursuers, the men had pounced
on him, dragged him and put him in the van and driven off. The boy had
been bleeding and his face had been covered in blood, witnesses said.
According to an eye witness who has sent faxes describing the incident
to the President, the Prime Minister and newspaper offices, the men involved
are attached to Minister John Amaratunga's security.
Another person in the area who was aware of the incident said that the
minister's wife had called people in the area on hearing about the incident
to ascertain as to who was injured.
When The Sunday Times spoke to Mrs. Amaratunga, she confirmed that she
had heard of the incident, but said that none of the minister's security
officers were involved, as they were with him at the time of the incident.
The Wattala police claim that no complaint has been made with regard
to the incident.
Meanwhile, Minister Amaratunga said he was not aware of the incident
and added his security officers travel with him at all times.
"I don't use a van for my security, only jeeps are used. None of my
organizers have made any complaints about an incident of this nature.The
security I have are from the STF and I don't have any security personnel
wearing Army uniform", the minister said.
Mangala's fleet not returned
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti
Former Minister Mangala Samaraweera is yet to hand over twenty vehicles
he was using during his tenure as a powerful PA Cabinet minister, government
sources said.
According to latest inventories, three cars and three jeeps from the
Ministry of Mass Communication are among the vehicles not returned so far.
The vehicles not returned to the Ministry of Housing and Plantation
Infrastructure are a car and five double cabs. The former minister has
also been given four vehicles from the Ministry of Finance of which he
held the deputy portfolio until December. These vehicles also have not
been returned.
Crackdown on illegally held weapons, explosives begins
The Interior Ministry has begun compiling a list of weapons issued by state
institutions to unauthorised persons or could not be accounted for, after
the two week long amnesty to surrender weapons held by unauthorised persons
expired last Tuesday.
The list includes weapons issued by certain police units to unauthorised
persons during the period prior to the general elections and those that
have not been accounted for.
Interior Minister John Amaratunga confirmed that the ministry had compiled
a list of the weapons which had not been accounted for.
He said the list will help the government to collect unauthorised weapons.
The Secretary of the Interior Ministry M.N. Junaid had published the
notice announcing the amnesty for the surrender of unlicensed firearms
and unauthorised explosives.
Any persons detected after the amnesty which ended on January 15 with
unlicensed firearms and unauthorised explosives, will be liable to be arrested,
the notice said.
The amnesty was announced in order to begin a major crackdown on the
underworld and certain political elements carrying unauthorised weapons.
Some police units are reported to have issued weapons to certain police
stations outside the official quota for the use of selected officers in
order to enable them to carry out illegal activities prior to and during
the general election.
Veteran editor dies
Veteran editor M. A. De Silva, a well known figure in journalism for half
a century, passed away yesterday.
He had served as managing editor and editor of the Lake House Sinhala
daily, Dinamina, played a key role in the formation of Sri Lanka's first
domestic news agency, Lankapuwath, and capped his career by training scores
of journalists to play the leading role they are doing today in the media.
As a close associate of the then prime minister, Sir John Kotelawela,
Mr. De Silva played a dynamic role in national events, including the entry
of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. He was also a consultant to the veteran
award winning publisher Esmond Wickremesinghe.
Bribery Com. faulted for falling on its job
The Institute of Human Rights petitioned the Supreme Court recently alleging
that the Bribery Commission failed to act on the reports submitted by it
pertaining to corruption and abuse of state property during the recently
concluded general election.
The move follows the Bribery Commission's response to a complaint made
by the IHR. The commission said the material contained in the complaint
did not come within the purview of the Act on Bribery and Corruption.
In its petition the IHR states that under Section 4 of the Bribery and
Corruption Act, if the Bribery Commission is satisfied that the material
submitted is genuine and warrants an investigation, such an investigation
ought to be conducted by the Bribery Commission.
The IHR prayed for an order quashing the decision of the Commission. |
