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Home » NewsNo noisy rallies but these workers portrayed May Day
While there were no big rallies or processions to mark May Day on Friday, this workers’ day was portrayed significantly by poor Natamies unloading gunny bags full of food items from lorries at the Pettah market as they do every year. Pic by M.A. Pushpakumara
Queries over Health Ministry purchase of 300 air-purification systems
Controversy surrounds an alleged deal by the Health Ministry to purchase 300 air-purification systems for state hospital ICUs. These 300 air-purification systems/air sterilizers said to cost in total over Rs. 300 million are part of a list of items due to be bought through World Bank funding and procured by UNICEF for the Health Ministry, [...]
Cabinet approves borrowing of Rs. 31.7bn to kick start first stage of Central Expressway
The Highways Ministry and the Road Development Authority (RDA) have received Cabinet approval to borrow more than Rs 31.7bn from foreign or domestic sources to kick start the stalled construction of the first section of Central Expressway (CEP I). Amidst the curfew, there are also negotiations—sanctioned by the Cabinet—with handpicked parties canvassing for the third [...]
EC considers holding polls on staggered basis
The conduct of the next parliamentary elections on a staggered basis is now under discussion, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday. The Commission’s three-members should sit together and take a final decision, he told the Sunday Times. Should the Commission decide on such a course, he said, the counting of votes would be held [...]
SJB, JVP to boycott meeting called by PM
The Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) yesterday announced it would boycott tomorrow’s Temple Trees meeting called by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the Covid crisis with all members of the last Parliament. Issuing a statement, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said the practical solution to the prevailing crisis was to reconvene the last Parliament [...]
Were nominations valid? AG’s advice sought
The Election Commission has sought an opinion from the Attorney General on the implications of the Government declaring special public holidays during the Parliamentary elections nomination period which ended on March 19. Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya told a meeting of political party representatives yesterday that the EC was awaiting a response from the AG’s Department. This [...]
Unprecedented cash-flow calamity looms amidst COVID-19 crisis
Sri Lanka is on the verge of an unprecedented financial (cash-flow) calamity arising out of an unfolding revenue shortfall, confronting the Treasury during these crisis times. The most pressing issue at hand was the rapid exhaustion of the Rs. 715 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure from the revised 3-month Vote on Account (VOA) for the [...]
State revenue collection drops by Rs. 120bn in six weeks
The Government’s revenue collection has dropped by more than Rs 120bn in the past six weeks, a senior Treasury official said. The Inland Revenue Department, Sri Lanka Customs, the Immigration Department, the Excise Department and the Motor Traffic Department revenue collections have been the worst affected. “With the return of normalcy, it may be possible [...]
Virus risk at crowded worker lodgings bothers tea and garments sectors
Despite the rapidly spreading coronavirus and the curfew, major export industries such as tea and apparel, have resumed work under health recommendations. But they fear virus outbreaks if employees are infected at their residences or temporary lodgings. “Plantations employees have begun work, from tea plucking to processing. There are about 580 tea factories in the [...]
Inventors in haste get help to lock in patent rights against theft
The Sri Lanka Inventors Commission has allocated more than Rs. 10 million to develop prototypes of some 45 inventions, with patents being filed for 27 products, many of which could be of critical importance in fighting COVID-19. Innovations have been occurring at a great rate all over the island since late March, the head of [...]
Nuwara Eliya weather shines for apples
Environmentalists and agriculture experts believe that the present weather conditions in Nuwara Eliya and surrounding areas are favourable for the cultivation of apples, oranges and many other fruits. Their optimism comes amid Government moves to restrict the import of fruits such as apples, grapes and pears for a limited period as part of measures to [...]
Backup plans if COVID-19 cases increase in WP and Puttalam district
The plans to open up the Western province and the Puttlam district for normal life from May 11 have been drawn with a backup plan to lockdown sections if required, a senior official said. Health Ministry Secretary Badhrani Jayawardena told the Sunday Times that the plan was being implemented on a test basis and the [...]
Private Pharmacy Owners Association requests PCR testing for pharmacy staff
The All Island Private Pharmacy Owners Association has collected over Rs. 1 million in funds to conduct PCR (Polymerase Cain Reaction ) testing on their staff members. Association president Chandika Gankandara said most of its 3500 members consisting of small and medium pharmacies have requested that their staff who come in direct contact with patients [...]
Farmers resist call to wean off fertilisers and return to nature
Farmers are resisting calls from the Government to reduce their reliance on pesticides and fertilisers by using compost and cultivating local varieties of paddy, saying this was impractical. They are complaining that their newly-sprouting crops are malnourished due to insufficient supplies of fertiliser, especially the free quota supplied by the government. Mahinda Ranaweera, 46, who [...]
Ports Chief wants container backlog cleared, warns of fine from May 7
Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Daya Ratnayake has urged importers to clear their containers at the port to facilitate operations. He said that as many as 12,000 containers, including 1,500 that were brought on a shared basis, were still in the port and they need to be cleared to accommodate new containers coming in. [...]
May Day ‘on mute’ for the second year
There were few workers on the streets for May Day this year: most were confined to their homes with their factories closed down, with some on the verge of losing their jobs and tens of thousands of other formal and informal employment positions affected. Absent were the usual loud rallies, meetings and commemorative events. It [...]
Vendors engineer false shortages to hike up rice price
Vendors have created a false shortage of rice to charge higher prices for the product, government authorities said. Consumer Affairs Authority’s (CAA) Deputy Director Asela Bandara said most mobile vendors and shop owners were claiming there was a shortage of rice due to curfew simply to sell rice at higher prices. He also said the [...]
BASL should be in the forefront of the fight for justice
The arrest and detention of attorney at law Hejaaz Hisbullah purportedly in connection with investigations relating to the Easter Sunday bombings of April 21, 2019 has had an unexpected fall out with 216 attorneys at law writing to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) urging the BASL to refrain from intervening in the matter [...]
Underworld figures linked to politician plunder Yala forest land during curfew
About 100 acres of forest cover in a reservation bordering the Yala sanctuary have been illegally cleared during the curfew by people suspected to be underworld figures also involved in the heroin trade and with links to a powerful local politician in Kataragama, wildlife sources said. So far, three suspects have been arrested by the [...]
All quiet on the western front
The spread of the coronavirus and the declaration of the lockdown have had a serious impact on ongoing construction projects. The Western Province, which has been identified as a high risk zone, has undergone nearly two months of continuous lockdown in an attempt to combat the spread of the virus. The halt to construction has [...]
Happy to be homeward bound after being stranded in Colombo and its suburbs
The first batch from around 50,000 persons stranded in Colombo and its suburbs, for more than six weeks, were provided transport by the Police yesterday to leave to their villages. Initially a batch of 370 people were selected. Those who left for their villages were seen gathered near the Peliyagoda police station. Their temperatures were [...]
Foreigners can extend visas from tomorrow by registering with Department of Immigration website
All foreigners currently in Sri Lanka requiring to extend their visas will need to register with the Department of Immigration, a senior official said. Facilities to register will be made available via the Department’s website from tomorrow. Those registering will be called for interviews in batches enabling them to pay up the fees and get [...]
Nawalapitiya local councillor’s pals being sought
A few more suspects are being sought following the arrest of a former urban councillor in Nawalapitiya on Thursday, for alleged violation of the quarantine curfew, the police said. The former Nawalapitiya Urban Council chairman Sasanka Sampath Sanjeewa who was appointed as the new UNP Organiser for the electorate by former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe [...]
Ground laid for easing of lockdown
As a new date a week away was announced for the easing of the lockdown in high-risk areas including Colombo, a high-level health official said firm ground preparations are in place, whenever the country goes back to the ‘new normal’ situation. The Health Ministry is constantly monitoring how hospitals are managing the situation in the [...]
Animal activists heed starving dogs’ SOS
Several animal rights organisations have joined in solidarity to feed stray dogs that are going hungry during the lockdown period. Around 200 activists across the country have teamed up to feed the starving animals. In normal times, dogs in city areas feed on food refuse from offices, eateries and households but with all offices closed [...]
Showers, heat spread across island
Different regions of Sri Lanka are experiencing vastly contrasting weather conditions. The Department of Meteorology claimed that temperatures reach up to 37.6 degrees Celsius in the North Central Province, while there could be heavy rains in some provinces. Heavy showers are forecast for Central, Southern, Uva, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, North-western and North-central provinces, but at the [...]
HRCSL concerned over arrests made over social media statements
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has raised alarm about a spate of recent arrests of persons for statements they had made on social media, particularly about the spread of COVID-19. There are at least eight recorded cases, all before the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo, the HRCSL told the Sunday Times. The alleged [...]
Contradictory announcements one after another confuse public
A spate of contradictory announcements and reversals of earlier decisions have marred the Government’s efforts to counter the country’s COVID-19 outbreak. The contradictions started at the very top. During a meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force at the Presidential Secretariat on March 17, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa insisted that there was no need to totally lockdown [...]
Maligawa postpones higher ordinations due to virus danger
Higher ordination rites of novice Buddhist monks, or Upasampada rituals, usually held between the full moon days of May and June will not be held at the Malwatte and Asgiri Maha Viharaya this year due to the coronavirus danger, the custodians of the Sri Dalada Maligawa have decided. The rites have been postponed to next [...]
No glimmer of hope for pandal makers
N.G. Karunathilaka (37) from Hasalaka has been making pandals for the past 18 years. Pandal-making for him has been a family business. He grew up in Moratuwa and learned the trade from his father. “Pandal-making for me is not just a profession. It is an art form. Not everyone can do it. But given what [...]
The dawn of a lockdown Vesak
With the COVID-19 outbreak yet to be contained, this year’s Vesak celebrations will be notable for the absence of many things that one normally associates with the most important day on the Buddhist calendar. Given the current situation, the focus will be firmly on celebrating Vesak at home. The strict health sector guidelines and social [...]
Lanka’s “unique” response to battling COVID-19 in the spotlight
Sri Lanka’s “unique” strategy in combating COVID-19 came under the spotlight at the first international virtual conference on the disease ‘Breaking the transmission chain through community empowerment’. Held by the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the Asia Pacific Academic Consortium of Public Health (APACPH) with an eminent panel and participants from 40 countries, the [...]
COVID-19 symptoms may be different in the elderly
Here Consultant Physician Dr. Achala Balasuriya discusses how COVID-19 may present differently in the elderly The main symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, pain in the throat, shortness of breath, myalgia and fatigue. It can also cause a headache, a productive cough, and loose stools, loss of smell and taste and red eyes. The disease [...]
NMRA vigilant about face-mask quality
With information that face-masks worn properly may be one measure to help keep the virus away, people are seen sporting all kinds including masks matching their clothes. As a video of face-masks being stitched not in the most hygienic of conditions went viral, the Sunday Times asked the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) about the [...]
Non-COVID deaths
There may have been at least 10 deaths linked to diseases other than COVID-19 during the lockdown of the country which could have been prevented, health sources told the Sunday Times. These deaths may have been caused on one hand because people were reluctant to seek treatment in hospitals due to fears of the new [...]