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Children
of NE to be immunised against polio The first round
will be held on the 28 of September and the second on the 26 of
October, Epidemiological Unit Director Dr. T.A. Kulatillake said
all children under five years are expected to be vaccinated. This programme
being conducted jointly by the Epidemiological Unit and the UNICEF
is expected to cover about 300,000 children in the North and East. Though since 1993, no cases of polio have been reported the North and East has been identified as a high-risk area, due to the recent inflow of people from India raising concerns of a possible outbreak of the disease. Revenue
Authority: A step towards privatisation The Council was created after the last budget for the purpose of establishing a Revenue Authority (RA) with a mandate to revamp three major revenue-collecting departments, namely, Customs, Inland Revenue and the Excise Department. However, the
Trade Unions of the Customs Department claim that the formation
of a Revenue Authority is a first step towards privatising the department
resulting in loss of employment. The unions claim that this move had been made without any discussions with them, nor has proper information been given regarding its functions. According to
trade union sources the establishment of the RA, will repeal the
existing Customs Ordinance, the Excise and the Inland Revenue Act,
which for so long has been the basis of revenue for the state. "Though
the Authority would consist of seven representatives from the business
community and three former heads of the particular department the
government as such would have no control over its functions",
a trade unionist said. However, an official of the Authority said that the structure of the RA has not been finalised and its purpose was not to harass the tax payer, but to act as a mechanism to rope in tax evaders and ensure the prompt payment of taxes. The official went on to say that it was also not the intention of the Council to make any adverse changes to the existing salary structure nor to the other perks presently enjoyed by the staff.
Bench comprised
Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Justices Shirani A. Bandaranayake
and P.Edussuriya. Electrical
Superintendent D.P.Amarasena along with L.M.Jayantha Kumara in his
application cited Mount Lavinia Police Intelligence Unit OIC Inspector
Jayaratnam, Sergeant Ediriweera, Constable A.Ajith Vasantha, Crime
Branch OIC Inspector Weerakoon and the Attorney General as respondents. On Saturday
May 4, Amarasena and Kumara had parked their vehicle near the Ratmalana
Telecom Office. Amarasena was intent on getting to the billing centre
before closing time, at 1 p.m. When walking
towards the gate of the Telecom, a trishaw with three persons in
civils heading towards Moratuwa slowed down besides him and the
driver of the trishaw raising his voice asked him whether he signalled
before parking. Amarasena answered saying he did and continued to
walk. Before he could
reach the gate some one grabbed him by his shirt collar and allegedly
punched him in the head and another blow allegedly by Sergeant Ediriweera
landed on his face. As all those in the trishaw were in civils,
he wondered whether this was an attempt to rob his vehicle. Sgt Ediriweera
was allegedly holding his hands thus preventing him from defending
himself. Amarasena had bitten Sgt Ediriweera's ear in an attempt
to free himself. At that moment Inspector Jayaratnam and Constable
Vasantha had rushed to the scene and allegedly assaulted the petitioners.
None of them being in uniform and there was no indication of their identity. Amarasena requested for their identity cards. Inspector Jayaratnam had then allegedly turned and assaulted them questioning as to whether police officers should produce identity cards before taking people into custody. Then Amarasena and Kumara were pushed into the trishaw, forced them to leave their vehicle behind. They were taken to the Mount Lavinia police station and when they were entering the police station, Inspector Jayaratnam announced aloud that "A Tyson has been brought.' Supreme Court had already granted leave to proceed in respect of the alleged infringement of freedom from torture, arbitrary arrest and detention. Helpage,
first NGO to open an eye hospital The hospital
was set up at a cost of around 3.8 million rupees and well equipped
to handle cataract surgery said Ms. J Gunawardena, head of the eye
care unit. She said they intend performing about 10 operations each
day, 5 days a week totalling to nearly 200 operations a month. Ms. Gunawardena said patients from various parts of the country, identified to be suffering from cataract will be directed to this hospital through Helpage eye camps. Patients could
also contact the hospital directly for surgery, she said. The hospital would be located at Nugegoda in a building donated by Doctor Bernard Soysa in memory of his daughter Doctor Akshika Soysa, who met a tragic death. The hospital is scheduled to be declared open next Wednesday, by Health Minister, P. Dayaratne |
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