Consequent to a Health Ministry survey, which identified 160,000 children in Sri Lanka as being visually impaired, while another 450,000 children as being potentially susceptible, the Health Ministry launched ‘Vision 2020’, a programme to donate free spectacles to these affected school children.
Under this programme, school teachers are expected to assist in identifying children who are visually impaired. The gifted spectacles will be changed if necessary, every six months, as children’s eyesight may change quickly. If these spectacles break, they will be replaced free of charge, the Health Ministry official said.
Yesterday, 500 spectacles were gifted in the Colombo District, with First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena participating in the inaugural ceremony.
A leading private bank and private institutions are supporting this programme, the official added.
Freedom on Thai Pongal for 78 ex-LTTEers
Seventy eight suspected LTTE cadres were released from a detention centre yesterday to mark Thai Pongal festival, an official said.
Amidst celebrations of the harvesting festival, 48 women and 30 men walked out free into Jaffna city, from the camp
The official said that the Government intends to release in small batches, some of the 4,500 men and women still left in rehabilitation centres.
Around 10,000 LTTE combatants gave themselves up when the LTTE hierarchy was killed in May 2009, ending the three-decade conflict.
Additional health staff sent to flood-hit areas
Special medical teams of doctors, nurses and public health inspectors (PHIs) were dispatched from Colombo to assist the medical teams already working in the flood affected areas of the Eastern and North Central Provinces.
75 PHIs have been included in the team sent to the Eastern Province whereas the team sent to the North Central Province consists of 45 PHIs.
These teams will be attached to the main hospitals in the provinces and to work in the displaced peoples’ camps in affected areas.
Though no diseases were reported from the camps till yesterday, children under five years of age have been asked to be admitted to a hospital as a precaution, although any sign of contamination is not visible.
Early this week, pregnant mothers-to-be of 36 weeks or more, in the flood vulnerable areas, were advised to admit themselves to hospital as a precaution while elderly people have been warned to be careful of respiratory diseases, especially due to the present cold weather.
However, the Sunday Times learns that there are some areas, such as in the Somawathie dagoba area where people were trapped due to floods and could not be reached by the medical teams till last Thursday.
Indian Air Force Chief arrives today
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| Indian Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik |
Indian Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik will arrive in Colombo on a four-day official visit today.
During this period he is expected to call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and service commanders and is expected to visit flying squadrons stationed at Sri Lanka Air Force bases.
Air Chief Marshal Naik was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on June 21, 1969 after initial schooling in Sainik School at Satara. He graduated with the 33 course from the National Defence Academy.
He is a qualified flying instructor with vast instructional experience and a fighter combat leader.
Gota back from Israel, Jordan visits
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa concluded an official week-long visit to Israel last Tuesday where he visited facilities upgrading military hardware for the Sri Lankan Security Forces.
His visit was at the invitation of the Israeli Ministry of Defence and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) which functions under the Ministry.
Secretary Rajapaksa met the different heads of department at the Israeli Defence Ministry including his host Director General Udi Shani and the IAI President Itzchak Nissan during his visit from January 5 to 11.Israel played a decisive role in the victory by the Sri Lankan Security Forces over the LTTE in 2009 by providing military hardware.
Secretary Rajapaksa visited production lines and upgrading facilities of the UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), C130 transport planes, helicopter gunships, Kfir jets and the boat manufacturing plant where he rode, during its test trial on the sixth and last fast attack Dvora vessel ordered by the Sri Lanka Navy.
According to Defence Ministry sources, Secretary Rajapaksa signed no arms deals with Israel but thanked their Government for the military assistance given and observed the modernising of the military hardware already with the Sri Lankan Security Forces.
Mr. Shani has agreed to visit Sri Lanka shortly, these sources added.
Secretary Rajapaksa was due back in Colombo last night en-route from Amman where his visit was at the invitation of the Jordanian Ministry of Defence.
In Jordan he met with the Joint Defence Services Chairman Lt. General Mesh'al Al Zeben where he discussed placements for Sri Lankan service personnel at the National Defence College and Defence Services Staff College, which requests were approved.
He visited the Kasoic, the King Abdulla II Special Training Centre, a state-of-the-art training facility built with US aid to train special forces and currently headed by a US General. He also visited a special guard training centre - a training facility for guards of VIPs.
In Amman, Secretary Rajapaksa also had wide ranging discussions with the Jordanian Minister of Public Works and Housing Dr. Mohammad Obeidat and studied the working of the Greater Amman Authority.
11 held following Park armoury raid
At least 11 employees attached to the Kaudulla National Park at Minneriya were taken into custody after the Park's armoury was raided early Saturday, police said.
They said the employees were being held only on suspicion and investigations would be carried out with an open mind.
The incident forced authorities to close the park to visitors leaving some 50 tourists stranded outside the gates.
Officials said the Park would be closed to visitors until initial investigations were completed.
Picture shows foreign tourists waiting outside the gates of the Park.
They were later told that the Park had been closed to visitors with immediate effect:
Mervyn J. Cooray no more
Mervyn Joseph Cooray, a former Minister of State for Power and Energy in the 88-94 UNP government passed away last evening at the Panadura hospital. He was 72.
He entered parliament in 1983 when he was nominated to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of parliamentarian Padmin Fonseka.
Funeral arrangements will be notified later.
House to debate Jaffna situation
A day-long debate on the situation in the Jaffna peninsula will take place in Parliament on Thursday.
The debate will be by way of an adjournment motion introduced by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK). |
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