China has suspended sending tour groups to Sri Lanka in the wake of the coronavirus. Officials from the Chinese Embassy confirmed this to Immigration officials during a meeting this week.
A top immigration official said the Chinese officials told them that China has suspended sending tour groups to the country due to the coronavirus issue. They have further said any Chinese tourists and even those traveling to Sri Lanka on official business are being screened for the virus prior to being allowed to travel.
The meeting was held amid complaints that Chinese tourists were being discriminated against due to fears over the virus. Chinese officials had raised concerns that some hotels and business establishments were turning their nationals away. They had assured Immigration officials that such fears were unwarranted.
Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration and Emigration stated that Chinese nationals can still apply to visit Sri Lanka via the 'Free Visa' facility by applying from China itself. However, the On Arrival Visa facility for Chinese nationals remains suspended.
I still remember the day of August 1947 floods, as it was the last school day at Kingswood College Kandy and the height the water soured. Water rose to the height of the Cross of the Chrurch at Getambe and the water was so high that it engulfed the Getambe Rajaponawarma Temple leaving only a few leaves of the Bo-tree visible.
The Colombo Additional Magistrate has ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to investigate and submit a report over a complaint about the alleged illegal assets gained by model Piumi Hansamali.
Heritage properties are major tourist attractions world over. Sri Lanka is no exception in this matter. From Colombo, Galle, most of the mountain cities including Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela, Hatton and Kandy and in the North, hundreds of heritage properties are spread across.
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