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8th June 1997

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Srimani gets tough with those who foul environment

By Arshad M. Hadjirin

Environment laws will be toughned in a fresh move to rebuild healthier surroundings, Transport and Environment Minister Srimani Athulathmudali said.

Ms. Athulathmudali told 'The Sunday Times' that the government decided to take a tough line, following this year's International Environmental Day which reiterated the importance of maintaining a pollution free country.

The minister said the police would shortly receive orders to nab all those who pollute the waterways, land, or air and even charge them in courts, if necessary, in keeping with new laws.

Pollution of environment and destruction of forest cover have become so widespread that Sri Lanka, which some decades ago had eighty per cent of forest cover, is left with a mere 19.5 per cent.

Tree felling, creating industrial effluents, emitting poisonous gases, causing high pitched noise in public places are some of the offences the police will be looking for.

Meanwhile new industrialists of Colombo and its suburbs, are required to set up their own waste treatment plants whatever the cost to safeguard the environment while the older industries too are being advised to set up such plants.

Mrs. Athulathmudali said that she takes a serious view of sound pollution and will consider a complete ban on high volume speakers soon, in densely populated areas.

She said that this trend is seen everywhere in Pettah and in towns where lottery ticket sellers to shop owners use high pitched speakers to announce their products. "This will be stopped, immediately," she said.

The minister added that her ministry cuts through most of the other ministries and that, it acts as a policy making body for them


Emergency rule for Alexandra impasse

By Chamintha Tilakaratna

Emergency regulations may be used to solve the Alexandra College impasse, said Education Minister Richard Pathirana adding that it might give at least a temporary solution.

The Minister told 'The Sunday Times' that the Ministry is not in a financial position to take any firm action. "If any action can be taken it will be temporary because the Ministry of Education does not have the authority to take any permanent decision," he said.

The sudden closure of the college has put over 3000 children out of school.

Member of Parliament, A.H.M. Azwer had asked the Minister to intervene immediately, acquire the land, even under the emergency regulations.

The Minister said the fact that it is an English medium school and private, has restricted the Ministry from taking any permanent step.

Government English medium schools are not allowed under the present education system. The parents have offered to pay the teachers on their own for tuition.

The school had been shifted to two other places before it was brought to Alexandra Place, and this according to the Minister is another legal problem. At present the entire school has been demolished and the students are picketing on the pavement.

Meanwhile, the Parents and Teachers Association of the school is preparing to take the matter to courts. The association members speaking to the Minister had said that that they would take the matter further if they had to. They will also be holding a meeting today as well.

The Sunday Times was unable to get in contact with the Principal of the school, Douglas Weeramanthri.

The Ministry has decided not to register any more international schools. This, according to the Minister, has been suggested by the President as well.


CID unit removed from the BIA

The CID unit at the Bandaranaike International Airport has been closed with immediate effect, according to informed sources.

Sources told The Sunday Times that the decision taken at the top to close down the unit follows serious corruption charges against the CID, the police, some airline personnel, the Immigration and Customs regarding the issue of boarding passes to some passengers.

On 19 February this year, 17 Sri Lankans surreptitiously left the country. Later they have been suspected as LTTErs. They had obtained the boarding pass elsewhere and avoided detection at the AirLanka counters. However, when the authorities informed Dubai the next port of call, four passengers with Sinhala names were off loaded but the suspected 17 had made good their escape in Amsterdam.

Six AirLanka employees were also arrested for allegedly aiding the seventeen LTTE suspects to obtain boarding passes on an AirLanka flight to Amsterdam. The employees were produced before the Negombo Magistrate and Additional District Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe and have been remanded indefinitely.


Police officer's threats probed

An investigation into the alleged threats made by a senior police officer in the Puttalam area at a meeting to discuss the construction of the massive 300 acre power project at Nuraichcholai in Kalpitiya has been launched, Minister of Power and Energy, General Anurudha Ratwatte said.

The Minister told a press conference at the Power and Energy Ministry on Friday that an 'impartial' inquiry was on into the matter. However the Minister claimed there was no truth in the allegations. Despite denials by the Minister and officials, sources told our reporter earlier that the particular police officer had threatened those present at the meeting held at the Puttalam Town Hall.


North-east GAs hold talks with Governor

By S.S.Selvanayagam

Civilians in uncleared areas in the Wanni are urgently in need of food, water, shelter and other essentials, North-east Govt. Agents told Governor Gamini Fonseka at a meeting in Colombo.

The meeting, orginally scheduled for Friday, was to be attended by military field commanders also but they could not come as the GAs advanced the meeting by a day to accommodate another meeting the next day. The GAs of Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Mannar said civilians in uncleared areas had to trek through long distances and much difficulty to cleared areas to obtain rations. Besides delays at checkpoints they were allowed to cross over on three days of the week.

The GAs appealed that checks at security barriers be streamlined and that people be allowed to cross over on any day to collect rations.

At the meeting held in the Governor's Colombo office the GAs spotlighted problems facing public servants in uncleared areas. The GAs of Mullaitivu, and Kilinochchi said they themselves had no transport for urgent work.


House debates on TV soon

The Parliamentary proceedings will be televised and transmitted over TV political party leaders decided.

Party leaders have accepted this decision on principle and a committee has been appointed to formulate the rules and regulations in connection with the proposal.

The committee,will comprise Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake, Dr.Neelan Tiruchelvam and A.C.S. .Hameed.

The rules and regulations are likely to be about the same as in Commonwealth Countries like England, Canada and India as well as America.

The committee is expected to submit it's report within two or three weeks .


Only work no pay, say nurses

The nursing staff at the Avissawella base hospital who perform compulsory overtime duties are perturbed by the inordinate delay in the payment of their dues. The delay is caused by not processing the O.T. applications and forwarding them to the DHS's office on time, the nurses point out.

Meanwhile, a check initiated by the D M O had revealed that the O T applications submitted to the matron, for March were still in a drawer by the final week of May.


Romeo banker

Women workers of a state bank speak in whispers of a Romeo executive who solicits their favours and harass those who rebuff his overtures.

This had been the form with him even when he oversaw the work of the bank's branches in the outstations.

Now he is to go on transfer abroad and the bank workers are relieved but some ask whether he would be adding more feathers to his amorous cap.


Special English exam for stenographers and clerks

Clerks and English stenographers who want to serve in the Foreign Ministry will have to sit a special examination in future, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Administration said.

The measure is being taken as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed the Ministry of Public Administration that adequate knowledge of spoken and written English is an indispensable requirement for clerks and stenographers as work of the ministry is mainly done in English . Under the new requirement the officers in the general clerical service and English stenographer service are eligible to sit this exam. However there is no guarantee that all those who qualify at this examination will be posted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

June 23 is the closing date for applications for this exam for which applications should be made through the respective heads of the departments to the Commissioner of Examinations. The exam is to be held next month.


20,000 wait for EPF dues

Hardest hit by the Central Bank strike are 20,000 EPF beneficiaries who are waiting to collect their dues which run into millions. The agitation by the Central Bank Employees Union started as a go- slow by non-staff members in February and snowballed a full work stoppage.


Journalist hit in political cross-fire

The Dehiwela- Mt.Lavinia group correspondent for Lake House Newspapers who was suspended recently after 34 years service has filed a fundamental rights petition in court, claiming that the action was arbitrary, capricious and based on political grounds.

Correspondent K. Rupa-singhe Perera said the problem arose from failure to cover the April 18 ceremonial inaugural session of the Dehiwala-Mt.Lavinia Municipal Council. When asked for an explanation, he had told the head of the Central news bureau that he was not aware of it and he was not informed to do so.

On May 8 he was informed of his suspension . When he appealed, the news bureau chief told him "You must meet Minister C.V. Gooneratne and apologise to him. All the problems are coming from CV. Tell him and request your reinstatement,'' the correspondent said.

Mr. Perera, pointed out that on previous occasions, at the request of the News Editor he had covered functions featuring Ms. Athulathmudali. In recent months there has been open rivalry between Ministers C.V.Gooneratne and Srimani Athulathmudali. The case will be taken up on Wednesday.


ACBC crumbling on corruption charges

By Christopher Kamalendran

Sri Lanka's premier lay Buddhist organisation has been plunged into its biggest crisis - with its chief being accused of illegal land deals and political manoeuvring while he has counter charged top members with corrupt practices.

As the scandal escalated 12 senior members of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress went to the Colombo district court on Thursday and obtained an interim injunction restraining ACBC president Sudath Devapura from calling a special meeting of the Congress today.

The anti Devapura lobby charged he was trying to change the constitution and enroll new members so that he could win another term in office.

They accused him of abuse of power, involvement in shady land deals and trying to politicise the Congress - an apparent reference to moves such as Mr. Devapura's recent appeal to UNP frontliner Anura Bandaranaike.

Mr. Devapura stood firm in the stormy seas.

In an interview with The Sunday Times he flatly denied the charges against him and accused his rivals of creating a controversy to cover up their financial irregularities over the past few years.

Mr. Devapura said no- confidence motions were pending against the ACBCs joint secretary and a committee member who were among those gunning for him.

He had intended taking up those motions at the next ACBC meeting.

Former All Ceylon Buddhist Congress President Albert Edirisinghe said he was shocked by the incidents that were threatening to ruin an organisation that great Buddhist leaders had laboured to build.

Another former President K.T.W. Sumanasuriya said what was taking place in the ACBC was a power struggle and the organisation would collapse if remedial action was not taken immediately.


Cabinet reshuffle or not I can handle even the job of a chef, seems to be what Tourism and Media Minister Dharmasiri Senanyake is telling the chefs who conducted him to the Culinary Art '97 at the BMICH recently.


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