The Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Bandula Gunawardena and High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha officially launched rail track rehabilitation work at Galgamuwa Railway Station today (7).
The launch signaled the start of the second phase of a Line of Credit (LOC) project for track rehabilitation from Maho to Omanthai (128 km), which is being carried out by an Indian Public Sector company, IRCON, under an Indian LOC of USD 318 million.
The entire restoration project from Maho to Anuradhapura, costing USD 91.27 million is expected to be completed within six months.
High Commissioner Jha emphasized the significance of modernizing Railways in Sri Lanka to improve the mobility of goods and services, thus boosting economic activity.
India has provided over USD 1 billion in railway projects to Sri Lanka under five Indian LOCs, with IRCON contributing to modernization by reconstructing the Northern Province railway line network and upgrading the Southern line.
Via a contemporary signaling and telecommunication system, it has also helped to guarantee safety and dependability throughout a 330 km section of the railway line.
The event was attended by State Minister of Mass Media Mr. Shantha Bandara and senior officials from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Transport.
A Sri Lankan wanted for financial frauds and under a red notice was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport along with his wife and child as they were returning from India, Police said.
My memory takes me back to 1979, to a moment etched in time when a strikingly tall and impeccably dressed military officer, a Master in charge of Cadeting at Prince of Wales College commanding a guard of honour presented to President J.R. Jayawardene by the cadets of 3CCC, consisted of Ananda, Nalanda and Prince of Wales Cadet platoons at the Prince of Wales College grounds.
An American national, who had been staying in Sri Lanka for nearly ten months without a valid visa while using a Sinhala name under his American passport, was arrested by the Tourist Police of the Kandy.
The Government is considering abolishing the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff (OCDS) when the term of office of its incumbent General Shavendra Silva ends on December 31.
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