by Garvin Karunaratne

Sky rocketing prices of vegetables and fruit has happened to be the order of the day. Once we did have a method to control inflation by ensuring that traders cannot keep a fat margin. That was the system built up by Sri Lankan administrators RH Basset and BLW Fernando Commissioners of the Department for Development of Agricultural Marketing.  This system was worked in a perfect manner from the Fifties till the late Seventies, when  we bowed to the IMF and abandoned it.

I enclose a Paper written by me a few years ago which details the system which was  unique to Sri Lanka. Opening more Economic Centers do not provide an answer to inflation.  Perhaps this paper may offer some ideas.

Controlling Inflation: How once we did it

Inflation- Rising Prices is a major concern today. Sri Lanka had built up the infrastructure to control inflation. What we are seeing today-unbridled inflation, has been caused because we  did away with the infrastructure we had.

For the marketing of essential commodities, in my own words:

The Department for the Development  of Agricultural Marketing”¦ ensured that prices of all essential commodities were indirectly controlled and the traders were compelled to offer fair prices to the producers and the retail shop keepers were compelled to sell at fair prices to consumers.  This is a system that I have never seen elsewhere in the world’ ¦The motto of the Department was to pay the highest possible price to the producer and sell at the lowest possible price  to the consumer.( From: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka,”¦ (Godages)

 I was involved with the entire System because I was appointed Assistant Commissioner for the Development of Agricultural Marketing in 1955, and worked in the Ratnapura, Hambantota, Anuradhapura  Districts as well as was in charge of the Tripoli Market, the Headquarters of the Vegetable Marketing Scheme for a year in 1957.

 This System involved a Network of Retail Shops(Fair Price Shops) in every major city and a Vegetable  and Fruit Marketing Scheme involving purchasing, selling and processing   vegetables and fruits, a Scheme  that covered the entire island.

The entire island was covered by Assistant Commissioners in the Provinces and Marketing Officers posted in producer areas, who had to +report the availability of produce, prices at the Fairs, and guide producers to plant varieties in demand.

 A Network of Retail Shops(Fair Price Shops)

In order to enable the availability of essential food the Marketing Department established a large number of shops in the cities and these shops were well stocked with essential food like dhall, sugar, flour, onions and vegetables. These were sold at rock bottom prices, where no profit margin was kept. The intention was to unofficially control the retail prices offered by private traders. When a well stocked shop was selling goods at a low price the private retailers too had to sell at similar prices otherwise they will have no sales because the consumers will all go to the Marketing Department shops and the private shop keepers will have to close down. Assistant Commissioners had to ensure  that the Departmental shops were well stocked.

An incident comes to mind. I was then in charge of the Southern Province with my office at Ambalantota. In the Red Onion season we got wagon loads of red onions from Jaffna and we were required to sell at whole sale prices to traders and also to sell at our shops. One day  I had just inspected our shop at Galle and also visited a number of private traders’ shops to ensure that they did sell red onions at reasonable prices. I returned to Ambalantota. The next morning in office I got a telegram from Head Office. It read, Member of Parliament Dahanayake reports that there is a shortage of red onions in Galle. Inspect and report at once”. Those were the days when we had no mobile phones and it was very difficult to get long distance calls. . I got into my car and reached Galle by  around four. I went straight to our shop and found it well stocked with red onions. I checked the books for sales. I visited a number of private shops and found them well stocked selling at a slight higher price than our price. That was how it ought to be. Armed with these details I went to Mr Dahanayake’s residence. He was not in and I waited for him. I knew him well. It was late in the night about ten that he came home and inquired what brought me there. I brandished the telegram and said that I had been in Galle the earlier day and found that red onions were available in our shop and that there was no shortage. He  looked hard at me for a few minutes and said, Garvin, You know a man came to meet me and said that there was a shortage of red onions and to satisfy him I sent a telegram to the Minister” I quipped, ” But sir, there is no shortage and there never was” ” That I know but to keep that man happy I had to send a telegram.”  He added,” That is politics, Garvin. We have to keep our supporters happy. Don’t you worry, next time when I go to Colombo I will meet the Minister and tell him that there is no problem here with the Marketing Department”  That was all. I reported this meeting to our Commissioner and never heard again. Presumably Mr Dahanayake had phoned the Minister.  We Assistant Commissioners had to have a dragnet over all essential supplies and that included not only our shops but all private shops. It was an indirect control of prices and availability.

Again, once at the District Coordination Committee at Anuradhapura it was reported that the few traders were fleecing the colonists at Padaviya by charging high prices. I was the Assistant Commissioner at Anuradhapura and said that we will open a shop at Padaviya. I got covering approval from the Commissioner and in a few days time opened a Shop at Padaviya, to serve the colonists. Our Shops effectively controlled the cost of living. The private traders had to cut their profits as otherwise they would be  out of business. That scheme worked well.

The Vegetable and Fruit Marketing Scheme

The Marketing Department established Vegetable and Fruit Packing Sheds(actually purchasing units) in all producing areas. The name given was packing sheds and they were in many places in temporary buildings mostly made with timber. Even some Assistant Commissioners had their offices in these temporary buildings in 1955.

The entire Vegetable Marketing Scheme was administered from Tripoli Market, based in the largest hangar in the Colombo Goodshed.  One part of the Scheme was to purchase vegetables and fruits from producers who brought their produce to our Vegetable Packing Sheds. They were paid immediate cash. The Department was equipped with lorries that were sent to the chief  Producer Fairs in the producer areas. Thus there were mobile purchasing uints at all major fairs like Embilipitiya, Colombage Ara,  Bandarawela, Welimada, Kekitrawa to mention just a few. These Purchasing Units comprised Marketing Officers and a staff of purchasing officers and labourers. The produce brought in was weighed and accepted from producers and they were paid cash immediately. The Assistant Commissioners of the Districts were required to visit all major fairs to ensure that the purchases were made regularly. When I worked in the Districts on most days my day commenced at four to get to the Fairs by six in the morning. Vegetables were purchased and packed and dispatched to Triploi by evening either by wagons(by trains) or by special lorry.

At Triploi Market, the Assistant Commissioner  had a Marketing Officer at the Colombo Wholesale Market. His task was to report the prices at which the wholesale traders sold the produce to the retail traders and to report on the availability of produce. In the Districts, the Assistant Commissioners and the Marketing Officers had to report the prices at which private traders purchased vegetables and fruit.  Generally there was a wide gap between the prices at which the traders purchased goods and the prices at which the Wholesale Traders sold to the retail traders in Colombo. Based on these prices, the Assistant Commissioner at Tripoli Market decided the purchasing prices at which goods were to be purchased at the Fairs. This price was always above the prices offered by the traders who bought goods at the Fairs. This helped the producers and the traders at the Fairs too had to offer a similar price because otherwise the producers will not sell to them.

On a daily basis Tripoli Market received around twenty wagon loads of vegetables and a similar number of lorries bringing in produce. These were checked and had to be in our Retail shops by ten in the morning.  Tripoli Market was a hive of activity from early morning.  Then the Railways ran a very efficient service and brought in produce in time.  For instance curd from Ridiyagama Farm in Hambantota was sent by lorry to Matara and came by night mail train to Tripoli. This was an item in high demand. The retail price we fixed for Ridiyagama Curd effectively controlled the prices of curd in private shops in Colombo.

The Assistant Commissioner at Triploi Market kept a very low margin to cover up cost of transport and handling and fixed a low price for sales to the consumers through the network of Shops. Generally the Marketing Department kept a margin of around 10 to 15% above the purchase price while the private trader at the Fair  kept a margin to 40 to 50% and the Whoelsale Traders too kept around 40% and further the retail trader too kept around 40%.  Thus while the private trader generally kept a margin of 100% or 120% over the purchasing price at the Fair, the Marketing Department kept a margin of 10% to 15%.  The establishment of Special Vegetable Depots at Dambulla  etc in recent years, actually created another middleman, keeping a margin of profit.

The working of the Marketing Department  meant that the private traders at the Fairs and the Wholesale Traders as well as the Retail Traders in the cities had to be satisfied with a low margin.

The Marketing Department in the Fifties was headed by BLW Fernando, a Chartered Accountant and he would not allow any Assistant Commissioner to keep a higher margin than 15%. That was a rule to be followed. Every month all Assistant Commissioners had to attend a Conference where the Profit and Loss calculations were closely studied and the Commissioner would chastise all Assistant Commissioners that  had a profit of over 10% or incurred a loss.  We were expected to cover up, not to incur a loss or  to get a large profit.

This was the key method by which the prices of vegetables and fruits were kept in check. The Scheme has thus a dual aim- of offering the producer a fair price as well as offering the consumer a low price.  At times it was like walking on a rope but we got used to walk on it.

The Retail Shops had to be well stocked and full of goods otherwise the wrath of the Commissioner had to be faced.

A few years ago on one of my visits I found tomatoes being sold at forty rupees a kilo by a producer on the Mahiyangana Road, when the retail price in Colombo was around rupees eighty to one hundred, a margin of over hundred percent. This could not happen while the Marketing Department was at work. The Assistant Commissioners  were eternally traveling as they had to visit Fairs, inspect purchasing at the Fairs and the Vegetable Purchasing Depots, contact producers and offer advice on items on demand. Generally our traveling allowances exceeded our salaries.

Tripoli Marker had cold rooms where the excess produce could be stored.

This Vegetable Marketing & Fruit Marketingh Scheme  was very successful in ensuring that consumers in cities obtained vegetables and fruits at cheap rates. The Cost of Living was kept in check.

 The Canning Factory

Local producers got a boost with the establishment of the Canning Factory in 1955. At that time Sri Lanka imported fruit juice and fruit from Australia and the task of the Canning factory was to produce fruit juice, jam an-d jellies. The Vegetable Purchasing Centers sent goods to the Canning Factory. At the initial stages in canning fruit juice many problems were faced and it took over a year to surmount them and get down to production for all Sri Lanka’s requirements. The Marketing Department offered  floor prices for pineapples, red pumpkin and ash pumpkin and producers benefited immensely. Floor prices meant that the Department will purchase everything offered at that price. Pineapple was tinned and even an export trade was built up. Assistant Commissioner Oswald Tilekeratne spread his wings abroad very often. Red Pumpkin was turned into Golden Melon Jam and Ash Pumpkin was turned into Silver Melon jam. The Factory activity made Sri Lanka self sufficient in fruit juice, jam and many other processed food within a few years.

The Marketing Department was called upon to attend to many tasks.

Once Sri Lanka was not self sufficient in eggs. The Marketing Department offered a floor price for eggs and Triploi Market collected eggs from the Negombo-Nattandiya area till Sri Lanka was self sufficient in egg production. Once Self sufficiency was  reached the scheme was disbanded.

It was found that during the Kataragama Season, the restaurants charged high prices for meals.  This the Government combatted by running a large restaurant. Officers who have the ability were posted from various units and they provided quality meals. The Menu included thosa, kiribath, string hoppers, pittu, rice and curry and the restaurant was kept open till late. When I covered the Southern Province I was in charge of this restaurant for two years and was held responsible for providing good quality meals at a cheap rate.  This was the method by which the cost of living of the pilgrims was controlled.

With the abolition of the Marketing Department, and the privatization of the canning factory all this achievement was lost. That was the way in which the IMF crippled the development of the Third World and created a situation where we had to import from the Developed Countries.

Once the tomatoes producers at Hanguranketa made pandals of tomatoes in order to highlight their plight of not being able to sell their tomatoes. This could not have happened while the Marketing Department was functioning. To start with the Assistant Commissioner would be held responsible. If that happened when I was in charge of The Triploi Market I would have sent a few lorries and the entire stock of tomatoes would have been purchased within a few hours and it would have been turned into Tomatoe Sauce and Juice at the Factory. Today Spain produces tomatoe sause, tomatoe juice, tomato paste and sun dried tomatoes for most countries in Europe. With a Tomatoe belt in Hanguranketa we cannot produce tomato sauce even for our requirements. Our climate had enabled a variety of crops. There is a mango belt from Anuradhapura to Matale. Even today if action is taken to pluck mangoes and process it, we can be self sufficient in all fruit juice within six months. The Chena cultivators will find sales for their Red Pumpkin,Ash Pumpkin and Melon. There is an Avacado belt from Peradeniya to Gampola and avacado juice can easily be made. The country will benefit by avoiding the millions spent on imports.

Following the liberalization free market economics of the IMF we  created a market for tomatoe sauce from the USA, and fruit juice from as far as Canada and Oregan in the USA.  Our producers have stopped producing large quantities for fear of being unable to sell and we have unemployment and our farmers have low incomes. The Colombo Supermarkets are full of Heinz Tomatoes sauce from the USA and fruit juice and jam from Australia. The IMF did its work right to cripple development in our countries and for us to buy goods from the Developed Countries.  That was the Structural Adjustment Programme in action. (For more details: How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development: Kindle & Godages)

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති සඳහා වෙන් කළ මුදල් ආපසු මහා භාණ්ඩාගාරයට යැවීම වෙනුවට වසර අවසන් වීමට පෙර අදාළ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති අවසන් කරන්නැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යාංශයේ නිලධාරීන්ට අද (15) දින උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

නාගරික සංවර්ධන, අපද්‍රවය බැහැරලීම හා ප්‍රජා පවිත්‍රතා කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ තෙවැනි කාර්තුව සඳහා ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචන රැස්වීම අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ පැවති අවස්ථාවේ විෂය භාර අමාත්‍යවරයා වශයෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේය.

මහා භාණ්ඩාගාරයේ මුදල් ඉතිරිවන පරිදි ආයෝජන මගින් නිවාස ව්‍යාපෘති ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට මේ වනවිට අවධානය යොමු කර ඇතැයි ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචනයේ දී අදහස් දක්වමින් නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් සිරිනිමල් පෙරේරා මහතා පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

පසුගිය ජූලි මාසයේ ආරම්භ කළ සියක් නගර සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය මේ වනවිට ඉතා සාර්ථකව ක්‍රියාත්මක බව සඳහන් කළ සිරිනිමල් පෙරේරා මහතා මේ වසරේ දෙසැම්බර් 31 වැනිදා‌ට පෙර අදාළ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති බොහොමයක් අවසන් කිරීමට අපේක්ෂා කරන බව කියා සිටියේය.

මෙහි දී අදහස් පළ කළ නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ සභාපති විශ්‍රාමික මේජර් ජෙනරාල් උදය නානායක්කාර මහතා 2024 වසර අවසන් වනවිට නව නිවාස 60,000ක් ඉඳිකිරීමේ සැළැස්මක් ඇති බව හෙළි කළේය.

ඒ අනුව අඩු අදායම් ලාභීන් වෙනුවෙන් නිවාස 40,000ක් සහ මධ්‍යම පාන්තික සහ අනෙකුත් පාන්තිකයන් වෙනුවෙන් නිවාස 20,000ක් ඉඳි කිරීමට නියමිත බව හෙතම සඳහන් කළේය. සියක් නගර ව්‍යාපෘතියට සමඟාමීව ඒ ඒක් නගරයක නිවාස 100 බැගින් නිවාස 10,000ක් ද ඉඳිවන බව උදය නානායක්කාර මහතා පැවසීය.

කොළඹට පමණක් නොව ග්‍රාමීය ප්‍රදේශවලට ද මෙම නිවාස ව්‍යාපෘති ගෙනයන්න” යැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මෙහි දී නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

මධ්‍යම පාන්තික නිවාස 3000ක් කොළඹ නගරයේ ද තවත් 2000ක් කොළඹින් බැහැරව ද ඉදි කිරීමට සැළසුම් කර ඇති බව මෙහි දී අනාවරණය විය.

දීප ව්‍යාප්තව ක්‍රියාත්මකවන ඇවිදින මංතීරු ඉදිකිරීමට සමඟාමීව එම මංතීරු ආශ්‍රිතව ග්‍රාමීය නිෂ්පාදන අලෙවි කිරීමේ වෙළඳ සැල් ස්ථාපිත කිරීමට කටයුතු කරන බව නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් ප්‍රසාද් රණවීර මහතා පැවසීය.

කොළඹ අගනගර නාගරික ව්‍යාපෘතිය සහ උපාය මාර්ගික නාගරික සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති පිළිබඳව ද මෙහි දී සාකච්ඡාවට ලක්විය.

ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචනය අවසානයේ දී අමාත්‍යංශයේ එක් එක් ආයතනවල ක්‍රියාත්මක විය යුතු මූල්‍ය සැළැස්ම සහ මානව සම්පත් කළමනාකරණ ආකෘති අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා අතින් ආයතන ප්‍රධානීන් වෙත පිරිනැමුවේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට නාගරික සංවර්ධන, අපද්‍රව්‍ය බැහැරලීම හා ප්‍රජා පවිත්‍රතා කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය නාලක ගොඩහේවා, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී සහන් ප්‍රදීප්, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් ගාමිණී සෙනරත්, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්ය මණ්ඩල ප්‍රධානී යෝෂිත රාජපක්ෂ, නාගරික සංවර්ධන හා නිවාස අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් සිරිනිමල් පෙරේරා, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය අතිරේක ලේකම් නීතිඥ චමින්ද කුලරත්න, නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ සභාපති විශ්‍රාමික මේජර් ජෙනරාල් උදය නානායක්කාර මහතා, නාගරික සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් ප්‍රසාද් රණවීර මහත්වරු ඇතුළු අමාත්‍යාංශ ආයතන ප්‍රධානීහු එක්ව සිටියහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

ජාත්‍යන්තර සුදු සැරයටි දින සැමරුමට සමඟාමීව දෘශ්‍යාබාධිත පුද්ගලයන්ගේ නිර්මාණ ඇතුළත් කඩතුරාව” නිර්මාණ ග්‍රන්ථය එළිදැක්වීම අද (15) දින පෙරවරුවේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ දී පැවැත්විණි.

දෘශ්‍යාබාධිත පුනරුත්ථාපන භාර අරමුදලේ ප්‍රකාශනයක් ලෙස එළිදකින මෙම ග්‍රන්ථය ප්‍රාථමික සෞඛ්‍ය සේවා වසංගත රෝග හා කොවිඩ් රෝග පාලන කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍ය සුදර්ශනී ප්‍රනාන්දුපුල්ලේ මහත්මිය විසින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාට පිළිගන්වනු ලැබුවාය.

ජාත්‍යන්තර සුදු සැරයටි දිනය නිමිත්තෙන් දෘශ්‍යාබාධිත පුද්ගලයන්ගේ සහභාගීත්වයෙන් වෙනදාට පැවැත්වෙන සුදු සැරයටි පා ගමන හා සැමරුම් දින උත්සවය කොවිඩ්-19 වසංගත තත්ත්වය හේතුවෙන් මෙවර සංවිධානය කර නොමැත.

ඒ වෙනුවෙන් දෘශ්‍යාබාධිත නිර්මාණකරුවන්ගේ දීප ව්‍යාප්ත කෙටිකතා සහ පද්‍ය රචනා තරගයක් පවත්වා ඉන් තෝරාගත් නිර්මාණ  ඇතුළත් කරමින් කඩතුරාව” නමින් නිර්මාණ ග්‍රන්ථයක් මෙසේ ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇත.

ජාත්‍යන්තර සුදු සැරයටි දිනය සංකේතවත් කරමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මෙහි දී දෘශ්‍යාබාධිත උපාධිධාරී මණ්ඩලයේ සභාපති සුගත් වසන්ත ද සිල්වා මහතාට සුදු සැරයටියක් පිරිනැමුවේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට ප්‍රාථමික සෞඛ්‍ය සේවා වසංගත රෝග හා කොවිඩ් රෝග පාලන කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍ය සුදර්ශනී ප්‍රනාන්දුපුල්ලේ, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය අතිරේක ලේකම් නීතිඥ චමින්ද කුලරත්න, ප්‍රාථමික සෞඛ්‍ය සේවා වසංගත රෝග හා කොවිඩ් රෝග පාලන කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් සුනේත්‍රා ගුණවර්ධන,සමාජ සේවා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ චන්දන රණවීර ආරච්චි මහත්ම මහත්මීහු සහ අන්ධ ජන සේවා මණ්ඩලය සහ දෘශ්‍යාබාධිත පුද්ගලයන්ගේ සංගම් නියෝජනය කරන එහි නියෝජිතයෝ එක්ව සිටියහ.

Courtesy MailOnline

Farmers in Sri Lanka have warned that a ban on chemical fertiliser could worsen food shortages

Sri Lanka’s government breached its own ban on chemical fertilisers by importing potassium chloride this week, scientists said Friday, after outraged farmers warned the regulations could worsen food shortages.

The government imposed the ban in May as part of a drive to make Sri Lanka the world’s first 100 percent organic farming nation.

But the policy sparked anger among farmers, who have warned that Sri Lanka — already in the grip of food shortages caused by a currency crisis — now faces crop failure.

The agricultural ministry said only that it had begun to distribute 30,000 tonnes of “organic potassium chloride” that arrived from Lithuania on Wednesday, but it did not comment on claims by scientists that the cargo violated the government ban.

“This consignment of potassium chloride is not organic fertiliser,” said S.D.M. Chinthaka, professor of chemistry at the state Sri Jayewardenepura University.

“Very clearly, the government has violated its own ban on chemical fertiliser,” he told AFP.

Media reports quoted other experts also saying the government had breached its ban in importing the fertiliser.

Farmers have staged daily protests demanding fertiliser for their crops.

Anger grew last month when the government rejected 96,000 tonnes of organic fertiliser from China citing quality issues.

The government had offered subsidies to farmers to produce their own compost, but this failed to meet demand.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised to subsidise foreign fertiliser when he came to power in 2019, but later reversed policy, arguing that agrochemicals were poisoning people.

His administration has denied that the ban on chemical fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides is motivated by a foreign exchange shortage, instead claiming it is part of a push for healthier agriculture.

Farmers of rice, the country’s staple along with tea, have warned crop yields could be halved without chemicals.

Courtesy Adaderana

The total number of people, who died of COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka, moved up as 20 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Thursday (October 14).

The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,449.

The latest victims include 11 males and 09 females, the Department of Government Information said.

According to official data, 14 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 05 people aged between 30-59 years and one female below the age of 30 have also succumbed to the virus infection.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health says 498 more people were tested positive for the novel coronavirus so far today (October 15).

This brings the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in the country to 530,253.

Reportedly, more than 24,800 virus-infected patients are undergoing treatment at the moment at hospitals, treatment centres, and undergoing home-based care. 

The total number of coronavirus recoveries reached 491,958 after 354 more patients in total were discharged from medical care earlier today.

Courtesy The Economist

The ruling Rajapaksas have strong ideas and expect everyone to adopt them

Staring glumly at his paddy field in the depths of rural Sri Lanka, B. R. Weeraratne sighs. The regular incursions of greedy elephants have been bad enough. But the government’s outright ban on agrochemicals will, he fears, slash his yields of nadu and samba, two of the most popular varieties of rice. Though the 56-year-old likes the idea of organic farming in principle, he thinks the soil, the plants and the farmers all need time to learn it.” It should be phased in. Otherwise farmers like him may be flung into destitution.Listen to this story

But Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s president, is adamant. The former army officer was elected in 2019 largely on his reputation for ruthless dynamism. In 2009, as secretary of defence under his brother Mahinda, then the president, he brutally ended a long civil war against Tamil rebels. As urban-development secretary he beautified” cities by kicking thousands of people out of slums. As president he has taken a military approach to tackling covid-19 by bringing in the army alongside medical staff. More than 70% of over-11s have been double-jabbed.

Mr Rajapaksa’s military approach to turning Sri Lanka into the world’s first fully organic producer of food overnight looks less encouraging. For sure, his manifesto (Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour”) did promise a revolution in fertiliser use. But it was to have taken ten years. So it was a shock to Mr Weeraratne when a total ban was announced earlier this year. No more agrochemical imports are to be allowed after stocks run out. The Planters’ Association predicts a drop in tea production and export revenue by around 25% in the next six months and thereafter by nearly a half. Sri Lanka is the world’s fourth-largest grower of tea, exporting $1.24bn of the stuff last year, or 1.5% of gdp.

More than 90% of Sri Lanka’s farmers use chemical fertiliser and 85% of them expect crop losses in the coming season, according to Verité Research, a local think-tank; nearly two-thirds broadly back Mr Rajapaksa’s policy but 80% of those say they need at least a year to adjust.

Meanwhile people still need to eat. Inflation is hovering near 6% and food prices are up more than 11%. Rising global commodity prices, declining foreign reserves and ceilings on domestic retail prices have been causing shortages of essentials such as sugar and milk powder. On August 31st the president declared a state of emergency and appointed an army officer to regulate the market, among other things by confiscating stockpiles.

As foodstuffs began to run out, on September 29th he lifted the ceiling on the price of rice, which promptly jumped 17-32%, depending on the variety. Price controls on milk powder, sugar, wheat flour and domestic cooking gas were lifted on October 8th. The government has also, at last, allowed some more imports. Yet its preferred solution for shrinking a trade deficit that has grown to 42% of gdp has been to curb imports, such as fertiliser.

Foreign reserves, at just $2.6bn or enough for six weeks of imports, are shrinking. Between now and July the government must pay $7bn to service its foreign debts. With short-term liabilities so far outweighing reserves, notes Deshal de Mel, an economist at Verité, and Sri Lanka’s credit rating cut to junk by the main agencies, borrowing in global capital markets is all but impossible. Basil Rajapaksa, the finance minister (another brother of the president), admits the situation is bleak. Covid, he says, has contributed to a loss of $8.6bn in revenue. Earnings from tourism, usually $3bn-4bn a year, have collapsed. Remittances from Sri Lankans abroad have fallen 35% compared with a year ago.

Most independent economists reckon that an imf-backed restructuring programme is the least bad way out. But the government would find it hard to accept conditions that undermine the country’s much-vaunted sovereignty—and above all would squeeze voters such as Mr Weeraratne, who are already disenchanted. Like the country’s crops, the Rajapaksas are, to put it mildly, in need of a pick-me-up.

Hiru News

කුමුදු ජයවර්ධන, තාරක සම්මාන්  මව්බිම දැන්

රජය විසින් මෙවර මහ කන්නය සඳහා ආනයනය කරන ලද පොටෑසියම් ක්ලෝරයිඩ් (KCl) පොහොර ඛනිජමය සම්භවයක් ඇති කාබනික පොහොර බවට කෘෂිකර්ම අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල්වරයා සහතික කර තිබේ.

සිය ෆේස්බුක් ගිණුමේ සටහනක් තබමින් කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්‍ය මහින්දානන්ද අලුත්ගමගේ මහතා මේ බව සඳහන් කර ඇත.

කෙසේ වෙතත්, රසායන විද්‍යාව සම්බන්ධ ආචාර්යවරුන්, ගුරුවරුන් මෙන් ම සමාජ මාධ්‍ය පරිශීලකයින් මේ පිළිබඳව අදහස් දක්වමින් සඳහන් කර තිබුණේ, පොටෑසියම් ක්ලෝරයිඩ් යනු අකාබනික ඛණිජයක් බව ය.

ඒ අනුව, මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් පැහැදිලි කර ගැනීම සඳහා කාබනික පොහොර ආනයනය පිළිබඳව අදහස් පළ කළ ආචාර්ය අජන්තා පෙරේරා මහත්මියගෙන් mawbima.lk වෙබ් අඩවිය විමසීමක් කළේ ය.

එහිදී ඇය පෙන්වා දුන්නේ, ඊයේ (ඔක්. 13) මෙරටට රැගෙන ආ පොහොර, රසායනික ද්‍රව්‍ය එකතු කරන ලද පොහොර බව ය.

“මම දකින විදියට මේ අය අර N, P, K කියන තුන මේ ගොල්ලෝ ඇත්ත වශයෙන් ම අමුතුවෙන් ම එකතු කරලා තියෙනවා මේ දේට. ඇත්තට ම මේක සම්පූර්ණ බොරුවක් මේ කියන්නේ. ඒ කියන්නේ ඒ අයට උවමනාව තියෙනවා පෙන්නන ඒ ගොල්ලෝ තවදුරටත් කාබනික පොහොර තමා මේ භාවිත කරන්න එවලා තියෙන්නේ.”

ආචාර්ය අජන්තා පෙරේරා මහත්මිය සමග කළ සම්පූර්ණ සාකච්ඡාව හෙට බලාපොරොත්තු වන්න.

 කුමුදු ජයවර්ධන, තාරක සම්මාන් 2021-10-14 19:02:00 | Updated 4 hours agoSHARE

By Raj Gonsalkorale

The lesson for all is the need for nurturing critical thinking and to question information and its veracity. In explaining the thinking behind naming the new YouTube channel as Panshu, Ven Galkande Dhammananda said that the philosophy of the WRI has always had a positive outlook and it has focused on what could be done to have better outcomes, even over time, rather than just being disappointed with existing outcomes.

Social media today has linked millions of people with facts, fiction, and outright fake news. It has influenced the change of governments, the election of Presidents, Royalty being found out and disgraced, scandals of every description doing the rounds faster than lightning, and instant messaging becoming integral to the life of millions. Most do not ascertain the veracity of the information that is circulating, which can easily be done in most cases by doing a quick internet search, but simply and irresponsibly, have become fodder for social media giants in the market who have reaped millions of dollars as a consequence.

It is debatable whether instant information dissemination has made the world a better place for human beings and whether their quality of life has improved. The following statistics present a considerably bleak world.

• The world poverty rates (The World Bank says that in 2020, About 9.2% of the world, or 689 million people, lived in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 a day),
• The number of refugees (according to the UNHCR’s latest report for 2020, “some 79.5 million people had been forced from their homes due to persecution, conflict, and human rights violations.” That number includes 29.6 million refugees, 4.2 million asylum seekers, as well as 45.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs).
• Access to safe drinking water (WHO, in its 2019 report estimated that 2.2 billion people need access to safely managed drinking water, including 884 million currently without basic drinking water services)
• Number without basic food requirements (Action Against Hunger states that about 690 million people globally are undernourished)
• Access to basic health services (according to the World Bank and WHO, at least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services, according to a new report published in 2017)
• State of the world’s environment (The UN says that If current trends continue and the world fails to enact solutions that improve current patterns of production and consumption, if we fail to use natural resources sustainably, then the state of the world’s environment will continue to decline. It is essential that we understand the pace of environmental change that is upon us and that we start to work with nature instead of against it to tackle the array of environmental threats that face us) https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/05/rate-of-environmental-damage-increasing-across-planet-but-still-time-to-reverse-worstimpacts/#:~:text=Across%20the%20world%2C%20climate%20change,Sustainable%20Development%2C%20the%20reports%20state.

That is the reality of the world that is interconnected before one can blink an eye lid!  As of January 2021 it has been reported that there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide – 59.5 percent of the global population. Of this total, 92.6 percent (4.32 billion) accessed the internet via mobile devices.

The power of the internet has given enormous mind changing powers to social media giants, but as mentioned at the outset here, it is highly debateable whether this power has been harnessed to improve the quality of life for people and whether instant messaging has, in effect, brought people closer to one another.

99 Key Internet Statistics • 2023 Data (supplygem.com)

A discussion on this topic could very well be both esoteric and fruitless; understood and appreciated by a few, and of not much consequence to many. It is this statement that has relevance to the effort of Venerable Galkande Dhammananda and the Walpola Rahula Institute, in introducing a fundamental tenant of what Buddha had taught more than 2500 years ago.

In the inaugural program of the rebranded WRI YouTube channel Panshu”, Ven Dhammananda makes an enthralling presentation based on the Chulla Haththi Padopama Sutta which hopefully will leave viewers contemplating how well an ancient truism has been contextualised to a modern setting for its relevance today.

It is said that of many Suttas diversely found in the Buddhist text, Arahat Mahinda chose Chulla Haththi Padopama Sutta as the first discourse seed to feed Buddhist philosophy into King Devanampiyatissa (http://dailynews.lk/2021/06/24/features/252307/intellectual-discourse-led-new-social-foundation)

It is highly relevant that today, in the age of a world so instantly linked to one another, to relive what the Buddha himself extolled, and later Ven Mahinda presented to the people of Sri Lanka during his visit more than 2000 years ago, and now, what Ven Dhammananda presents to the contemporary world.

The following is adopted from Venerable Dhammananda’s presentation on this inaugural Panshu program and begins with the question whether Buddhism provides a guide to evaluate a situation before arriving at better decisions after critical inquiry. The answer is: yes, it does.

Quote Before we introduce the Buddhist model of decision making, let us familiarise ourselves with two general decision-making models that exist in society – the Pilotika model and the Janussoniya model. One day, Pilotika and Janussoniya met on the streets. Hearing from Pilotika that he is returning from an audience with Buddha, Janussoniya inquires whether Buddha is a noble person. Pilotika replies in the affirmative. Janussoniya then questions how Pilotika decided that Buddha is noble. Pilotika’s answer is quite important. He says: I decided that Buddha is noble because I saw expert debaters coming to debate with Buddha, having prepared extensively. However, upon a brief conversation, they gave up their prepared debating points, agreed with Buddha, and even became followers of Buddha. Having seen this, I decided that Buddha is noble. Having heard Pilotika’s answer, Janussoniya gets down from the chariot, asks where Budda stayed and salutes in the direction of Buddha, praising his nobleness.

Many of us make decisions following these two models. Pilotika’s decision of Buddha’s nobleness was not a result of consideration of Buddha’s discourse. It was simply a decision inspired by those Pilotika deemed to be important members of society.

When an actor or actress you like promotes a particular soap to become beautiful, or a sportsperson promotes a specific type of milk to make you stronger, some people believe that to be the utmost truth. This kind of thinking follows the Pilotika model.  Janussoniya model involves much less evaluation than even the Pilotika model. People following the Janussoniya model make decisions purely based on someone’s word. They would listen to the news telecast at night or someone’s recital of newspaper headlines in the morning and accepts that with no critical evaluation.

Going back to the original story, after this incidence, Janussoniya meets Buddha and describes his conversation with Pilotika. This is when Buddha rejects both Pilotika and Janussoniya models and describes the proper way of arriving at a conclusion or making critically evaluated decisions – in the form of a story:

A person entering a jungle observes a large footprint of an elephant. Having seen the sheer size of the impression, he decides that the print belongs to the ‘King Elephant’ of the jungle. However, Buddha suggests that he should look for further signs as other elephants can also have large footprints. Then the person observes broken branches, high above in the canopy – suggesting the elephant’s height and the reach of its trunk. However, still, this is not enough proof for a conclusion. There could be other elephants as tall. Then he observes mud streaks on branches higher up, again suggesting strong evidence of a tall elephant. Yet, there could be other tall elephants. Search further. Next, he observes damages on tree trunks made by elephant tusks. These damages suggest the height, size of the tusks and the strength of the elephant. Although this is even more substantial proof, yet it’s not sufficient proof to draw a final conclusion. Lastly, he sees with his own eyes the ‘King Elephant’ grazing the fields. Having seen with his own eyes, having confirmed what he has seen, only then can he conclude – teaches Buddha.

This model demonstrates to us that you shouldn’t come to a conclusion just by mere sight or mere word. You should collect further proof; you should examine further. Finally, only after coming to a concrete understanding after critical evaluation should you arrive at a final conclusion.

Practically, we may not be able to achieve a concrete understanding of everything in the world. We may need to stop at the footprint stage, broken branches stage, mud streak stage or the tusk damage stage. If we are in one of these stages, then our statements cannot be conclusive. Then it is essential to be aware that our understanding is incomplete” Unquote

Venerable Dhammananda concludes thus You may now see that, in the ‘Buddha’ model of decision making, there is zero room for blind faith; that critical evaluation is held in high regard. Now, let us reflect. Do you belong to the Pilotika model, Janussoniya model or the Buddha model?”

The lesson for all is the need for nurturing critical thinking and to question information and its veracity. In explaining the thinking behind naming the new YouTube channel as Panshu, Ven Dhammanandasaid that the philosophy of the WRI has always had a positive outlook and it has focused on what could be done to have better outcomes, even over time, rather than just being disappointed with existing outcomes.

He said that on the one hand, Panshu may be considered as being basically all the elements of soil that graces the Earth’s surface and the final repository of everything that is material irrespective of who one is and their wealth. Ignorance of this fact, and being blinded by perceptions, unable to come to terms with reality and look at life more objectively, critically and with unconditional love to others, have left many disappointed and dissatisfied with what they currently have around them.

On the other hand, one could look at Panshu or soil, as being a fertile environment to grow new thinking, new ideas, and an avenue for renewal of ethical and moral values, so that outcomes, even if it takes time for fruition, will yield a more loving, compassionate, ethical and moral world. Ven Dhammananda said the WRI, through Panshu, will be providing opportunities for experiencing, questioning, and discussing and engaging in critical thinking through a variety of programs that are being designed as a pathway for a better future. We reap what we sow, so, it is important to sow correct thinking so that we can reap a better future without just complaining about the present” he said.

The first program on Panshu may be accessed via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9zc7JpA3cs

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

කොවිඩ්-19 වසංගතයෙන් රෝගාතුරව නිවසේ ප්‍රතිකාර ලබන රාජ්‍ය සේවකයන්ටත් අග්‍රහාර රක්ෂණ අරමුදලෙන් වන්දි ලබා දීමේ ක්‍රමවේදයක් සකස් කරන්නැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා ඊයේ(13) පස්වරුවේ අදාළ නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දුන්නේය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණේ වෘත්තිය සමිති සහ ඒකාබද්ධ වෘත්තිය සමිති නියෝජිතයන් සමඟ අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ පැවති සාකච්ඡාව අතරතුර අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා මේ බව දැනුම් දුන්නේය.

මෙයට පෙර රාජ්‍ය සේවකයන් කොවිඩ්-19 වැළඳී ජීවිත අහිමිවීම හා රෝහල්ගතව ප්‍රතිකාර ගැනීමේ දී අග්‍රහාර රක්ෂණ වන්දි ගෙවීමේ ක්‍රමය 2021 අය-වැය යෝජනා මගින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට එවකට මුදල් අමාත්‍යවරයා වශයෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා පියවර ගෙන තිබිණි.

වෘත්තිය සමිති මෙහි දී රාජ්‍ය සේවය කාර්යක්‍ෂම කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා හමුවේ කරුණු ඉදිරිපත් කළේය.

රාජ්‍ය ආයතනවල ක්‍රියාකාරීත්වයට ආයතන මට්ටමෙන් උසස් නිලධාරින් සහ සේවකයන් අතර  පවතින ගැටලු බලපා ඇති අකාරය ද මෙහි දී පැහැදිලි කෙරිණි.

රාජ්‍ය සේවාව තුළ කාර්යක්‍ෂමතාව සහ ඵලදායිතාව වර්ධනය කළ යුතු බව පෙන්වා දුන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා, ඒ සඳහා වගකිව යුතු නිලධාරින්ගේ ක්‍රියාත්මක වීම අවශ්‍ය බව පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

ඒ සඳහා රාජ්‍ය සේවකයන්ගේ දේශීය සහ විදේශීය පුහුණු අවස්ථා ඉහළ දැමිය යුතු බව ද අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

2016 වර්ෂයෙන් පසු රාජ්‍ය සේවයට එක්වූ සේවකයන්ට පසුගිය යහපාලන රජය අහිමි කළ විශ්‍රාම වැටුප යළි ලබා ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් වෘත්තිය සමිති නියෝජිතයෝ මෙහි දී අදහස් පළ කළහ.

මේ පිළිබඳව සොයා බලන්නැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා ඒ මොහොතේ දී ම රාජ්‍ය පරිපාලන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්වරයාට දැනුම් දුන්නේය. ජිවන වියදම ඉහළ යෑමට සාපේක්ෂව විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් ඉහළ දැමීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් ද මෙහි දී සාකච්ඡා කෙරිණි.

දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ මිලදී ගැනීම්වල පවතින ඇතැම් අකටයුතුකම් සම්බන්ධයෙන් ද මෙහි දී වෘත්තිය සමිති නියෝජිතයෝ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා දැනුවත් කළහ.

කොවිඩ් වසංගතය හේතුවෙන් රටේ ආර්ථිකයට බලපෑම් එල්ල වී ඇති මෙවැනි කාලවකවානුවක රාජ්‍ය ආයතන තුළ වියදම් සීමා කර ගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් දැනටමත් දැනුවත් කර ඇතැයි සිහිපත් කළ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා, දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව තුළ පවතින අකටයුතුකම් පිළිබඳ සොයා බලන බව සඳහන් කළේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට අමාත්‍යවරුන්වන ගාමිණී ලොකුගේ, නිමල් සිරිපාල ද සිල්වා, රාජ්‍ය සේවා පළාත් සභා හා පළාත් පාලන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ජේ.ජේ රත්නසිරි, කම්කරු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් එම්.පී.ඩී.යූ.කේ මාපා පතිරණ, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය අතිරේක ලේකම් නීතිඥ චමින්ද කුලරත්න, සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ අතිරේක ලේකම් කුමාරි අත්තනායක, ජාතික අය වැය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් ජූඩ් නිලුක්ෂාන්, මහත්ම මහත්මීහු සහ ප්‍රගතිශීලී වෘත්තිය සමිති ජාතික මධ්‍යස්ථානය, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂ වෘත්තිය සංගම් හා වෘත්තිය සමිති ඒකාබද්ධ බල මණ්ඩලයේ නියෝජිතයෝ පිරිසක් එක්වූහ.

තිසර සමල් – අනුරාධපුර

රේගුවෙන් විනාශ කරන්නට නියමිතව තිබූ කසල තේ තොගයක්  කාබනික පොහොර වලට මිශ්‍ර කරන්නට ගෙනැවිත් එප්පාවලදී උණුසුම් තත්වයක්….

කාබනික පොහොර නිශ්පාදනය සඳහා කලවම් කිරීමට ගෙන ආ බවට පැවසෙන කසල තේ තොග වල ඇසුරුම් එප්පාවල ඇඳගල ප්‍රදේශයේ රජයේ වී ගබඩා වල ගිණි තැබීමට හේතුවෙන් අවට ප්‍රදේශවාසීන් හා එම ස්ථානයේ සිටි පිරිස අතර උණුසුම් තත්වයක් ඊයේ (13) මධ්‍යම රාත්‍රියේ ඇති විය.

ඉඩම් ප්‍රථිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂන් සභාව මගින් නිෂ්පාදනය කරන කාබනික පොහොර සඳහා කලවම් කිරීමට බව පවසා ඊයේ (13) රාත්‍රියේ  එප්පාවල ඇඳගල ප්‍රදේශයේ රජයේ වී ගබඩා වෙත කන්ටේනර් දෙකකින් රේගුව මගින් අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන විනාශ කිරීමට නියමිතව තිබූ කසල තේ තොග ගෙනවිත් ගබඩාව අසලම ඒවායේ ඇසුරුම් ඉවත් කර එම කාඩ්බෝඩ් ඇසුරුම් වලට (පෙට්ටි) හා පොලිතීන් කවර වලට එම පරිශ්‍රයේම  ගිණි තැබීම හේතුවෙන් අවට නිවෙස් වෙත දුම් ගැසීමෙන් බාධා සිදු වන බව පවසා ප්‍රදේශවාසීන් එම ස්ථානයට පැමිණ විරෝධය දැක්වීය.

ප්‍රදේශවාසීන්ගේ දැනුම් දීම මත අදාළ ස්ථානය වෙත එප්පාවල පොලිස් ස්ථානයේ නිළධාරීන්ද පැමිණියහ. පොලිස් නිළධාරීන් සමඟ ගබඩා පරිශ්‍රය  වෙත ගම්වාසීන්ද ඇතුළු වූ අතර, එම වී ගබඩා පරිශ්‍රය තුළ කසල තේ ගෙන ආ කන්ටේනර් දෙකක්, රේගු නිළධාරීන් පැමිණි වෑන් රථයක් ඇතුළු  රජ්‍යය ලාංඡන  සහිත කැබ් රථ  කීපයක්ද දැක ගත හැකි විය.

කන්ටේනර් පෙට්ටි දෙක  තුළ ඇති ඇසුරුම් කළ කසල තේ වල ඇසුරුම් ඉවත් කර  කසල තේ ගබඩා දෙකක් තුළ බිමට හලන අයුරු දැක ගත හැකි වූ අතර, ඉවත් කරන කසල තේ වල  ඇසුරුම් වූ කාඩ්බෝඩ් පෙට්ටි හා පොලිතීන් ගබඩා පරිශ්‍රයේ ස්ථාන දෙකක ගිණි තබන අයුරුද දැක ගත හැකි විය.

එප්පාවල පොලිස් ස්ථාන නිළධාරීන් අදාළ ස්ථානයේ සිටි පිරිසගෙන විමසා සිටියේ එහි කුමක්ද සිදු වන්නේ යන්නයි.

එවිට පැමිණි නිළධාරියකු කියා සිටියේ මම ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂන් සභාවේ, අපි කොම්පෝට් හදනවානේ, ඒකට ගෙනාපුවා මේ යනුවෙනි.

එවිට පොලීසිය අදාළ ස්ථානයේ කසල තේ ගබඩා කිරීමට ලබා දුන් අවසර පත්‍රය ඔහුගෙන් විමසා සිටි අතර, එවැනි අවසර පතක් ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට අදාළ නිළධාරියාට නොහැකි විය.

අනතුරුව අදාළ ස්ථානයේ සිටි රේගු නිළධාරීන්ගෙන්ද මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් පොලීසිය විමසීමක් කළ අතර,

රේගු නිළධාරීන් කියා සිටියේ,   අපි ගෙනාපු පෙට්ටි තමා මේ පුච්චන්නේ, තේ කොළ මේ ගබඩාවේ තැන්පත් කරනවා.

මෙතන මොනවා හරි කරන්න ඔයාලට දුන්න අවසර පත්‍රය මට දෙන්න, එච්චරයි මට අවශය යැයි පොලීසිය පැවසු විට ,  ඉඩම් කොමිෂන් සභාවේ නිළධාරියා සතුව එවැනි  අවසර පතක් නොමැති බවද පැවසූ අතර, මේ පෙට්ටි දාලා යන්න බෑ, පිටට යවන්න බෑ ඒ නිසා තමයි ගිණි තියන්නේ යැයි පැවසීය.

අනතුරුව රේගු නිළධාරීන් විසින් අදාළ කසල තේ තොගය නිදහස් කිරීම සම්බන්ධ ලිපියක් පොලීසිය වෙත ඉදිරිපත් කරනු ලැබීය.එම ලිපිය පොලීසිය විසින් පරික්ෂා කළ අතර, කසල තේ බහාලුම් 44 ක් එප්පාවල ඇතුළු  ස්ථාන 08 ක් වෙත යොමු කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් එහි සඳහන්වී තිබිණි.

අනතුරුව ගම්වාසීන් කියා සිටියේ මෙතන ගිණි තියන්න බෑනේ මේවා, අවට ගෙවල් වල පොඩි ළමයි ඉන්නවා, ගෙවල් වල ඉන්න බෑ දුම යැයි පැවසීය.

රේගු නිළධාරීන් කියා සිටියේ, අපි කස්ටම් එකේ, අපිට වැඩක් නෑ මේ කසල තේ, එස්.එම් චන්ද්‍රසේන මහත්තයා හරහා මේ ගොල්ල ඉල්ලලා තියෙනවා, කොම්පෝස්ට් හදන්න මේවා.

ඉඩම් කොමිෂන් සභාවේ යැයි පැවසූ නිළධාරියා කියා සිටියේ, අපි මේවා ගෙනාවේ කාබනික පොහොර හදන්න, මේවාගේ පොටෑසියම් වැඩියි.ගබඩා කරලා අපි මේවා කොම්පෝස්ට් වලට මිශ්‍ර කරන්න අරන් යනවා.රේගුවෙන් මේවා ටික නිදහස් කරලා යන්නයි ආවේ.

ගම්වාසීන් අවට පරික්ෂා කළ අතර, රේගු නිළධාරීන් පැමිණ  වාහන තුළ මෙන්ම අවට මත්පැන්, බයිට් ඇතුළු දෑ දැක ගත හැකි විය.

අනතුරුව ගම්වාසීන් හමුවට පැමිණි රේගු නිළධාරීන් කියා සිටියේ, අපිටත් මේක ප්‍රශ්නයක් අපි මේ ටැංකි දෙක සීල් කරලා අරන් යනවා කොළඹට යනුවෙනි.

එවිට ගම්වාසීන් කියා සිටියේ මේකේ එක එක දේවල් ගිණි තියන්න මේක සොහොන් පිටියක් නෙමෙයිනේ, අපිව දැනුම්වත් කරලාත් නෑ, යනුවෙනි.

එවිට ඉඩම් අමාත්‍යංශයේ යැයි පැවසූ නිළධාරියා පැමිණ කියා සිටියේ මේවා පුච්චන එක නේ ගැටලුවක් වෙලා තියෙන්නේ, ඒ නිසා අපි මේවා පුච්චන එක නවත්වන්නම්, අපි මේ රටට කාබනික පොහොර හදන්නනේ මේවා කරන්නේ  යැයි පැවසීය.

එවිට ගම්වැසියකු කියා සිටියේ කාබනික පොහොර හැදුවා කියලා අපිට වැඩක් නෑ, එවිට ඉඩම් අමාත්‍යංශයේ නිළධාරින් කියා සිටියේ අපිටත් වැඩක් නෑ, අපි ගන්නෙත් නෑ මේ පොහොර, අපි මේවා අපි හදන කාබනික පොහොර තියෙනවා නේ, මේවායේ පොටෑසියම් වැඩියි මේවා කළවම් කරලා කාබනික පොහොර හදන්න හදන්නේ.නැත්නම් මේ කසල තේ ගිණි දානවානේ, මේවායේ පොටෑසියම් වැඩියි කියලා සහතික කරපු ලියවිලි තිබේදැයි විමසු විට එවැනි ලියවිලක් ඒ අවස්ථාවේ තමා සතුව නොමැති බවද, එස්.එම් චන්ද්‍රසේන ඇමතිතුමා කියලා තමයි අපි මේවා ගෙනාවේ, අපේ වරායේ නතර කරලා තිබ්බා විදේශ රටකින් ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරපු කසල කන්ටේනර් 40  ක් තියෙනවා අපි දෙකක් නිදහස් කර ගත්තා, මේවා ඔක්කොම පුච්චන්න තමයි නියෝග කරලා තිබ්බේ, නමුත් ඉඩම් අමාත්‍යංශයේන් මේවා නිදහස් කර ගත්තා ,  යැයි ඉඩම් අමාත්‍යංශ නිළධාරීන් පැවසීය.

අනතුරුව එම ස්ථානයේ කසල තේ ඇසුරුම් ඉවත් කළ කම්කරුවන්ද පැමිණ තමන්ට ගම්වාසීන්ගෙන් තර්ජනයක් විය හැකි බැවින් පොලිස් ආරක්ෂාව ලබා දිය යුතුයැයිද, නොඑසේනම් රාජකාරී කරන්නේ නැති බවද පැවසීය.

අනතුරුව එම ස්ථානයේ උණුසුම් තත්වයක්ද  ඇති විය. කොම්පෝස්ට් කියලා මුං කසල තේ දෙන්න හදන්නේ, පොලීසිය මැදිහත් වී අදාළ තත්වය සමතයකට පත් කළ අතර, ගම්වාසීන් එම ස්ථානයෙන් ඉවත් කිරීමට කටයුතු කරනු ලැබීය.අනතුරුව පොලීසියද එම ස්ථානයෙන් පිටව ගිය අයුරු දැක ගත හැකි විය.

රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන්

එදා මෙදා තුර කෘෂිකර්ම ඇමතිවරු අතර විශිෂ්ඨතමයා මහින්දානන්ද අලුත්ගමගේ ම ය. එවැන්නෙකු  අගමැති, ජනපති ධූරයන්ට පත් නොකර කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්‍ය ධූරයේ තවදුරටත් තබා ගැනීම අපරාධයකි. අගතියකි.  අකටයුත්තකි.  

නිදහස් ලංකාවේ කෘෂිකර්මයට වැඩිම අවධානය දුන්නා යැයි කියන ඩී.එස්.සේනානායක අගමැතිතුමා,  කාකි සූට් එක දාගෙන අම්පාරේ, පොළොන්නරුවේ ජනපද,  වගා බිම් හදපු ජාතියේ පියා ය.   

ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක කෘෂිකර්ම උපාධිධාරියෙක් විතරක් නෙවෙයි, අසීමිතව ගොවිතැනට ආදරය කළ කාර්යාලයට වඩා ගොවි බිමේ හිටපු වැඩකාරයෙක්.  ඩඩ්ලි නැත්තම් ලංකාවේ අල වගාවක් නෑ. ඩඩ්ලි හදපු වාරිමාර්ග ලැයිස්තුව එතුමාගේ මහත්මා ගුණයට වැඩිය දිගයි.  

සර් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ගොවියෙක් නෙවෙයි, දොඩම්ගස්ලන්දේ කාඹුල්වානාඔය ජලාශය හදපු මිනිහා. වාරිමාර්ග නිලධාරීන් ඒකට ‘සර් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ජලාශය‘ නම දාලා බෝඩ් එකක් ගැහුවා. සර් ජෝන් ඒක දැක්කේ විවෘත කරන්න යන කොට.  මහජන මුදල්වලින් හදපු ජලාශයට මගේ නම දාන්න පිස්සුද? මම යන්න ඉස්සර වෙලා, ඔය බෝඩ් එක ගලවනවා යැයි කියලා කෑගහපු අගමැතිවරයා. කෘෂිකර්මයේ දියුණුවට අවශ්‍ය පහසුකම්වලට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දුන්න, තමන්ගේ නිවස ආණ්ඩුවට දුන්න අගමැති.   

1956 කෘෂිකර්ම ඇමති පිලිප් ගුණවර්ධන – රහංගල කාෂිකර්ම පර්යේෂණායතනය පවරගත්ත එකම ඇති. අද පැෂන්ෆෘට්, නාරං ඇතුළු පළතුරු, එළවළු දුසිමක් විතර රහංගල නිෂ්පාදන. කෘෂිකර්ම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ ස්ථිර හය හැදුවේ පිලිප් ගේ දැනුමෙන්. දැක්මෙන්.

ඊලඟ කෘෂිකර්ම ඇමති සී.පී. ද සිල්වා ට අදත් කියන්නේ මින්නේරිය දෙයියෝ කියලා.  ඩී.එස්. සේනානායක පරාක්‍රම සමුද්‍රය හදනකොට පොළොන්නරුවේ දිසාපති.

1965 කෘෂි ඇමති එම්.ඩී.බණ්ඩා දක්ෂයෙක් විතරක් නෙවෙයි කුඹුරට බැහැලා වැඩ කරපු ගොවියෙක්. උතුරට දකුණට එක සමානව කෘෂි සම්පත් බෙදුවේ ඇමති බණ්ඩා.  

1965 කෘෂිකර්ම නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමති කැප්ටන් සී.පී.ජේ.සෙනවිරත්න  – ගොවි හමුදාව හැදුවා. බදුල්ල කචේචේරියේ හිටපු දිස්ත්‍රික් ඉඩම් නිලධාරි  (DLO) සුසිල් සිරිවර්ධන එතැනින් නිදහස් කරගෙන මහියංගනයට අරගෙන ගිහින් අද වගේ යන්ත්‍ර සුත්‍ර නැති කාලයේ වාරි ඇළවල් කැපුව. රටටම ඒක පුළුල් කරපු නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමති. (1970 ආණ්ඩුව ගොවි හමුදාව විසිරුවා හැරියාම ඒ අය  71 කැරැල්ලට ගියා)  

හෙක්ටර් කොබ්බෑකඩුව – කාෂිකර්ම හා ඉඩම් ඇමති තමයි ඉඩම් ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කොමිෂන් සභාව හැදුවේ. ලංකාවේ ඉඩම් නැති ගොවියන්ට ඉඩම් ලැබුණේ හෙක්ටර් කොබ්බෑකඩුවට පිංසිදුවන්නටයි. ඒ කෘෂිකර්ම ඇමති කොබ්බෑකඩුව ගැන නිබන්ධනයක් ලියන්න පුළුවන්. 

මෛත්‍රීපාල සේනානායක වාරිමාර්ග ඇමති – මහවැලිය පොල්ගොල්ලෙන් උතුරට හරවන්න පටන්ගත්ත ඇමති.  1977 දී ගාමිණී දිසානායක වාරි ඇමති වෙන කොට අලුත් තරුණ ඇමතිවරයා එක්ක අමාත්‍යාංශයට ගිහින් මට දුන්න සහාය මේ තරුණයාට දෙන්න කිව්ව නිහතමානී අති විශිෂ්ඨයා. රටේ ඊලඟ අගමැති කියලා තමයි හැමෝම කිව්වේ.

ඊ.එල්. සේනානායක කෘෂිකර්ම ඇමති ගැන කියනකොට මතක්වෙන්නේ අර ඓතිහාසික වප් මඟුල.

ගාමිණී ජයසූරිය ගැන කියනකොට ඇමතිකමට වැඩිය හෘර්ද සාක්ෂිය වැදගත් කියලා පෙන්නපු බඊලඟ අගමැති වෙන්න තරම් සුදුසුකම් තිබ්බ දේශපාලනඥයා.

කෘෂිකර්ම රාජ්‍ය ඇමති විජේරත්න බණ්ඩා – කෘෂි රක්ෂණ හා ගොවි විශ්‍රාම වැටුප හැදුවා විතරක් නෙවෙයි ලංකාවට එළවළු – පළතුරු බෙදන දඹුල්ල ආර්ථික මධ්‍යස්ථානයේ සැලසුම්කරු.

ගාමිණී දිසානායක මහවැලිය හදලා රට අස්වද්දලා, මහවැලි සංස්කෘතියක් හදලා, ක්‍රීඩා පිට්ටනි, සමාගම් හදලා අවසානයේ වැවිලි කර්මාන්තයෙන් ලංකාවට ලෝකය දිනන්න පාර කපපු ඇමති.

ඇමති ලලිත් ඇතුලත්මුදලි – එදා තිබුණු සුළු අපනයන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව වෙනුවට නවීන වෙළඳ යුගයට ගැලපෙන විදිහට ‘අපනයන කෘෂිකර්ම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව‘ හදලා අමුද්‍රව්‍ය පිටරට යැවීම වෙනුවට නිමි භාණ්ඩ නිෂ්පාදනයට  (Value Addition) ලංකාවේ කෘෂි ව්‍යාපාරය ගොඩ නගන්න පියවර තැබූ බිය නැති ප්‍රාඥයා.

මේ සියල්ලටම එක පොදු සාධකයක් තියෙනවා. ඒ හැමෝම හිටියේ ඊලඟ අගමැති ධූරය, ජනාධිපති ධූරය පාමුල. අගමැති – ජනපති පුටුවට පහල පඩියේ හිටපු අය. ඩී.එස්. ගෙන් පස්සේ ඩඩ්ලි. ඩඩ්ලි ගෙන් පස්සේ සර් ජෝන්.  සී.පී. ද සිල්වා ගේ අගමැති කතාව එජපයෙන් නැවතුණු හැටි ප්‍රකටයි. ෆීලික්ස් ඩයස් බලය ඇල්ලුවේ නැතිනම්  මෛත්‍රීපාල සේනානායක තමයි ඒ ආණ්ඩුවේ දෙවැනියා.  (අනුර – මෛත්‍රී කැරැල්ල මතයනේද?) කොබ්බෑකඩුව 1982  ජනාධිපති අපේක්ෂක වුණා.  ගාමිණී ජයසූරිය, ඊ.එල්., ප්‍රේමදාස එක්ක අගමැතිකමට සටන් කරපු අය.  ලලිත් – ගාමිණී ලංකාවේ ඔටුණු පළදින්න බැරි වුණු රාජ්‍ය නායකයෝ.   

වත්මන් කෘෂිිකර්ම ඇමති මහින්දානන්ද අලුත්ගමගේ මේ හැමදෙනා වගේම අගමැති ධූරයට සුදානම්. ආසන්නයි.

හැබැයි ඒ සියල්ලටම වඩා විශිෂ්ඨයි.

කලින් හිටපු හැම කෘෂිකර්ම-වාරි-වැවිලි ඇමතිවරු, වැඩ කළේ ලංකාවට විතරයි.

මහින්දානන්ද ලෝක කෘෂිකර්මයේ දැවැන්තම පිම්ම තබා තියෙනවා.  

මහින්දානන්ද කෘෂිකර්ම ඇමතිතුමා ‘කාබනික පොටෑසියම් ක්ලෝරයිඩ්‘ සොයාගෙන තියෙනවා. ලංකාවට ගෙනල්ලා ලෝකයට හදුන්වාදීලා තියෙනවා.  ලංකා කෘෂිකර්මයේ විතරක් නෙවෙයි ලෝක කෘෂිකර්මයේ නව පිටුවක් පෙරළලා තියෙනවා. ලෝකයම බෑ කියද්දී, ලංකාව කාබනික කරලා, ලෝකයම කාබනික කෘෂිකර්මාන්තයේ දොරටුවට ගෙනල්ලා තියෙනවා. (රසායන විද්‍යාවට අනුව බෑ කියන අය අද සිංහල, English, Tamil   පත්තර  බලන්න. විද්‍යුත් මාධ්‍ය අහන්න. ඒ හැම එකකම ‘පොටෑසියම් ක්ලෝරයිඩ් කාබනික පොහොර‘ තියෙනවා.

ලංකාවට ශාක හා සත්ව නිරෝධායන පනතින් ගැලවිලා ඇපල්-මිදි ගෙඩියක් ගේන්න බෑ. හැබැයි, මහාචාර්ය කෘෂිකර්ම ලේකම් උදිත් ජයසිංහ එක්ක එකතුවෙලා කිසිම රසායනාගාර පරීක්ෂාවක් නැතිව ‘කාබනික‘ ගෙනල්ලා බෙදලත් ඉවරයි. රටේ ඩොලර් ආර්ථිකයට බරක් නැතිව, ‘බෝට්ටුවෙන් බඩු වලින්‘ ලංකාවේ මහ කන්නය ගොඩ දාලා ඉවරයි.  වසංගතයට පස්සේ සාගතය එනවා වගේ කථා කිය කිය ඉන්න ඇමතිවරු අතර කෘෂිකර්ම ඇමති විශ්වකර්මයෙක්. ප්‍රායෝගික මනුස්සයෙක්.  ලංකාවටම හරියන ටිප් – ටොප් දේශපාලනඥයෙක්.

හෙට නෙවෙයි, අදම අගමැති කරන්න වටිනවා. නොබෙල් තෑග්ග දෙන්න වටිනවා.

මහින්දානන්ද අගමැති කරනු!  රසායන විද්‍යාව පිළිබඳ නොබෙල් ත්‍යාගය ලබා දෙනු!!!

බොල් පිළිම කුඩු කරමු!!!! මහින්දානන්ද නමින් ගල් පිළිම නෙළමු!!!

රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන්

By Ella Nilsen, CNN

Wind turbines tower over the water off the shores of Block Island, Rhode Island. The Biden administration is planning a large expansion of wind power off US coasts.

(CNN)The Biden administration is planning to aggressively expand offshore wind energy capacity in the United States, potentially holding as many as seven new offshore lease sales by 2025.The move was announced Wednesday by US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and first reported by The New York Times.Haaland said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is exploring leasing sales along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, the central Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, as well as off the Carolinas, California and Oregon.

More than 30 countries have joined pledge to slash climate-warming methane emissions by 30%

“The Interior Department is laying out an ambitious roadmap as we advance the Administration’s plans to confront climate change, create good-paying jobs, and accelerate the nation’s transition to a cleaner energy future,” Haaland said in a statement. “We have big goals to achieve a clean energy economy and Interior is meeting the moment.”The administration in March announced a coordinated effort to bolster offshore wind energy projects in the United States in order to jump-start a “clean energy revolution.”As part of that initiative, which spans multiple government agencies, the Departments of the Interior, Energy and Commerce committed to a shared goal of generating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the US by 2030. The Interior Department estimates that reaching that goal would create nearly 80,000 jobs.Enter your email to sign up for the CNN Meanwhile in America Newsletter.

Want to understand American politics?We’ve got you.Sign Me UpNo ThanksBy subscribing you agree to ourprivacy policy.The Interior Department has already started lease sales for some of the areas Haaland mentioned on Wednesday.The administration in June announced a competitive lease sale for offshore wind in the New York Bight — an area of shallow water between New York and New Jersey — that it estimated could generate 7 gigawatts of energy, enough to power more than 2.6 million homes.In May, the administration approved the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project, located 12 nautical miles off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard. Later that month, it announced the California coastline would be opened to wind power for the first time.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, October 14: The third meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group (JWG) on Tourism was held on Thursday in the virtual mode. The meeting was co-chaired by S. Hettiarachchi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism from the Sri Lankan side and Rakesh Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary (Tourism) in the Ministry of Tourism from the Indian side.

Given the importance of tourism cooperation between the two countries, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, also addressed the meeting and shared his views on the deep cultural and people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka.

The High Commissioner expressed happiness that this meeting was scheduled at a time when both countries had started opening up for international tourists.

Noting that almost two-thirds of the tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka in the month of September 2021 were from India, the High Commissioner mentioned that the easing of the Covid-19 situation in both India and Sri Lanka and the tourism promotion activities undertaken by the Government of Sri Lanka have helped resume large-scale tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka from India.

In their opening remarks, the leaders of both two delegations underscored the importance of tourism cooperation between the two countries, which flows from an Inter-Governmental bilateral MoU signed in January 2004. They conveyed the interest of their respective governments in further promoting tourism in various sectors.

In this connection, the importance of increasing air and sea connectivity; development of relevant infrastructure and greater collaboration and interaction between tourism stakeholders of both sides was also underlined.

Other issues discussed during the meeting included, inter-alia, facilitation of the movement of tourists between the two countries; ways to further enhance cooperation in religious tourism through the development of Buddhist and Ramayana circuits in India and Sri Lanka respectively; the promotion of Kushinagar in India as a Buddhist travel destination; and increase wellness tourism, adventure sports tourism, MICE tourism, film & entertainment tourism etc.

Both sides decided to facilitate cooperation between tourism stakeholders like hoteliers, travel agents, and tour operators by holding fairs, exhibitions, promotional activities and organizing exchange visits.

In this regard, both sides underscored the importance of recent decisions taken by the two governments to boost two-way tourism viz., establishment of an air travel bubble between the two countries in April 2021; removing India from the list of travel-restricted countries by Sri Lanka and the resumption of the issuance of tourist visas by the Government of India from November 2021.

The 2nd JWG Meeting on Tourism was held in Colombo in June 2016. The 3rd JWG meeting, comes in the wake of a successful visit by the Foreign Secretary of India to Sri Lanka earlier this month. That has heralded enhanced bilateral exchanges, as both countries come out of COVID-related restrictive travel.

These interactions include the ongoing visit of the Chief of Army Staff of India to Sri Lanka. These visits signify the importance attached by both sides to enhancing bilateral cooperation in line with the vision and commitment of the leaderships of the two countries. 

Today’s meeting of the JWG on Tourism will impart further momentum to the strong people-to-people and cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka.

By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, October 14 (SAM): India and Sri Lanka now appear to be shedding doubts and reservations about each other and getting closer in multiple ways simultaneously. India’s urgency to counter China and Sri Lanka’s economic compulsions have combined to bring about top-level ‘to and fro’ visits in quick succession.    

Close on the heels of a fruitful three-day visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to Sri Lanka in the first week of October, comes the five-day visit of the Indian army chief Gen.M.M.Naravane which began on October 12. This will be followed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s visit to Kushinagar in North India on October 20, to participate in the inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport. The airport will be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian and Lankan leaders are expected to have talks on the sidelines of the event.  

It has been a long-standing wish of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the first international flight to land in Kushinagar should be a Sri Lankan Airlines flight. He would be doubly pleased to have the Sri Lankan President himself on board the first international flight with a delegation of 125 Buddhist monks in tow.

Kushinagar is where the Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana (or release from saṃsāra, karma and rebirth). To Buddhists, Kushinagar is as sacred as Buddha Gaya  where the Buddha attained Enlightenment.       Archaeological excavations led by C.L. Carlyle in the early 1870s, had revealed the main stupa in Kushinagar. A 6.10-meter-long statue of a reclining Buddha was discovered in 1876. In 1903, A Burmese monk, Chandra Swami, made the disused Mahaparinirvana temple into a living shrine.

READ: Gen.Naravane stresses need for top-level India-Lanka military engagement

Shringla Clears Decks

During his visit earlier in the month, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardan Shringla had giving finishing touches to a new scheme to strengthen bilateral economic and political links which had slackened despite the relentless efforts of successive Indian diplomats.

Economic relations particularly were in the doldrums. India-suggested and mutually agreed development projects were languishing while Chinese projects were forging ahead both in volume and speed. Even Indian projects which were within India’s grasp like the Eastern Container Terminal at Colombo, were snatched away. The coal-fired power plant in Sampur and the LNG project in Kerewelapitiya also slipped out.

While the Indians complained of Sri Lanka’s lack of interest, Sri Lankans complained of slow follow-up action on the part of Indian parties.

However, a variety of factors led to a change in the outlook in Sri Lanka.  The COVID-19-triggered economic slowdown, the financial/dollar crunch it created here, and the possibility of losing the lucrative American market and the European GSP Plus tariff concession, led to the  Rajapaksa regime’s taking a softer line towards the US, EU and their allies India and Japan.

This automatically led to some distancing from China.  While China was useful for accessing big loans, the market for Sri Lankan products were in the US, EU and India and not China.  

Although it is not known if any news projects for India are in the Sri Lankan pipeline, Indian Foreign Secretary Shringla, Lankan President Gotabaya and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa had all shown keenness to increase Indian private sector investments in the island. Both government appear keen to make these plans work this time around.

To make up with India, the US$ 700 million project to build and run the Western   Container Terminal in Colombo port has already been given to the Adanis of India. More recently, a decision was taken to give a US$ 400 million stake in the LNG plant in Kerawelapitiya to the American company ‘New Fortress Energy’ to strengthen ties with the US. More US investments are expected, especially in the tourism sector.  

Politically, Sri Lanka wishes to be a non-aligned and neutral country to ward off the possibility of becoming a theater of war between the US and India on the one hand (as partners in QUAD) and China on the other. With the creation of the AUKUS and the gifting of nuclear submarines to Australia by the US, any war here could well become a nuclear war. This is why President Gotabaya Rajapaksa proposed to the Indian Foreign Secretary that New Delhi should support Sri Lanka’s bid to make the Indian Ocean a Zone of Peace.

It is not clear if New Delhi would go along with this as it has hitched its geopolitical security wagon to the US vis-à-vis China. But if New Delhi is to keep Colombo in its fold, it has to address the latter’s anxieties and recognize its yearning for strategic autonomy.

On its part, belligerent China is in no mood to relax its anti-India stand. Replying to a question about Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls South Tibet”, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: The Chinese government has never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh established unilaterally and illegally by the Indian side, and is firmly opposed to the Indian leader’s visit to the area concerned.”

India and China are at loggerheads in Sri Lanka and also Afghanistan where China supports the Taliban government and India opposes it.         

Gen.Naravane’s Visit

The ongoing visit of the Indian army chief, Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane, fits into New Delhi’s bid to more forcefully and consistently engage Sri Lanka in multifarious ways. As Gen.Naravane himself said here on Wednesday: As matured democracies, the quality interaction among the elected leaders in both countries is mirrored by similar interactions by both militaries.”

Gen. Naravane then highlighted the importance of modernizing both the Indian and Sri Lankan military organizations to suit international standards and to be geared to meet with different types of emerging threats, including cyberattacks.  

Talks between him and Lankan Army Commander Gen.Shavendra Silva, also focused on the ongoing ‘Mithra Shakti’ training exercise where both armies are engaged. The visiting Indian Army Chief assured support for continuity and broadening of training programs in India.  Gen.Naravane offered the Indian army’s technical assistance for upgrading the military requirements of the Sri Lanka Army.

Lankan Army’s New Profile

Several Indian army chiefs had visited Sri Lanka before Gen. Naravane. But the latter’s visit would stand out because he would be seeing a changed Lankan army. The present Lankan army, thanks to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is part and part of the country’s civil administration unlike the previous Lankan armies and other armies in South Asia. The Lankan army is now used in regular infrastructure construction, urban development, COVID-control, Health Administration among other activities. Retired Majors General were appointed to head Customs, Civil Aviation and Ports departments. The Defense and Foreign Secretaries are retired high ranking military personnel. When the pandemic struck, Army Commander Gen.Shavendra Silva was put in charge of COVID-19 containment and he did a splendid” job, as  Gen.Naravane said on Wednesday. 

In his most recent address to the public at Saliyapura, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa justified the appointment of military officers saying that he wanted jobs done. He has faith in the army as he was himself a Lt.Colonel during the war.  

With Sri Lanka being pushed into the Indo-Pacific geopolitical vortex because of the sharpening conflict between the entrenched powers (US, UK, India, Japan and Australia) and the emerging power (China), the Sri Lankan army could acquire a different profile to tackle the new situation.

In fact, intensifying geopolitics with a strong military dimension could affect all armies in the region. Against this background, it will be worthwhile to study the development of the Sri Lankan army and other armies in the region. In this context, there is a need for these armies to engage with each other.

This has been recognized by Gen. Naravane. On Wednesday, he noted that high-level political engagements between India and Sri Lanka are being matched by high-level military engagements. 

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ අඩු පිරිවැයකින් කර්මාන්තශාලා ආරම්භ කිරීමට ඉන්දීය ආයෝජකයන් කැමැත්තෙන් සිටියත් මෙරට දේශපාලකයන් විසින් කොමිස් හා අල්ලස් ඉල්ලන නිසා ඔවුන් එවැනි ආයෝජන සිදු කිරීමට අකමැත්තක් දක්වන බවත් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රී වී රාධක්‍රිෂ්ණන් මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

තමන් පසුගිය දා ඉන්දියාවේ ප්‍රදේශ ගණනාවක සංචාරය කළ බවත් එහිදී එම කර්මාන්ත කරුවන් සමග කරන ලද සාකච්ඡා වල දී ඔවුන් මේ බව පැවසූ බවද මන්ත්‍රීවරයා කීය.

අඩු පිරිවැයකින් කර්මාන්තශාලා පවත්වාගෙන යෑමට ඉන්දීය ව්‍යාපාරිකයන් සූදානමින් සිටිය ද මෙරට රජය එවැනි සංවර්ධන කටයුතුවලට ඉඩක් ලබා නොදෙන නිසා එම ආයෝජනයන් සිදු වන්නේ නැති බව ද ඒ මහතා පැවැසීය.

මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් අමතමින් මන්ත‍්‍රීවරයා මෙම අදහස් පල කරන ලදි.

Zunana Zalif Courtesy raajje.mv

This first ever engagement would be mutually beneficial to both countries Ship and boatbuilding as a priority area for Sri Lanka 
NBAM and the the Representatives of the Sri Lanka Boat and Ship Building Industry held a virtual meeting on Monday .

The meeting was hosted by the Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka and was an initiative of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Maldives. 

The government of Maldives and Sri Lanka are to enhance mutual cooperation in the field of ship and boat building.

During a virtual meeting held between the National Boating Association of Maldives (NBAM) and representatives of the Sri Lanka Boat and Ship Building Industry on Monday, discussions were held on enhancing mutual cooperation in the field of Ship and Boatbuilding industry between Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The meeting was hosted by the Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka and was an initiative of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Maldives.

Additional Secretary at Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry, P.M Amza described the meeting as a landmark event to boost the collaboration between Maldives and Sri Lanka, in exchanging resources and knowledge that would lead to greater physical engagement to conquer the world together”.

With this being said, he added that the cooperation would be mutually beneficial to both countries as well as being a priority to further solidify the economies and boost existing bilateral ties for both countries. He stated that an effective agreement between the counterparts would prove to be beneficial for the sectors.

Chithranjali Dissanayake, Director General of Export Development Board of Sri Lanka (EDB), revealed that the collaboration towards a more sustainable partnership in the industry will be further energized with the initiative, noting that the EDB’s current focus is the Boat Show 2021” slated from October 25 – 29.

Noting that Sri Lanka has taken steps to enter the nautical tourism, Dissanayake stated that collaboration in the field will prove to be significant to meet partners, globally.

With this being said, she urged the boating industry in the Maldives to register and participate at the Boat Show 2021”, which will pave way for more interactions.

Further, NBAM President Ahmed Afrah shed light on the links between the boating industry and the tourism sector of Maldives, with the association’s main focus being to develop the boating industry in a way that ensures economic and social development aspects.

Afrah went on to shed the spotlight on the many initiatives by NBAM in this regard, recommending to establish an agreement to support and share expertise in the areas of mutual interest.

Also speaking at the event, Gamini Herath, Managing Director of Boat Building Technology Institute of Sri Lanka (BBTI) shared the institute’s focus on promoting Sri Lanka as a boat building hub” in the South Asia region.

The meeting also saw proposals to have joint ventures in the industry to facilitate better investment and business engagements. Participants of the meeting agreed on working to draft an agreement on the industry for closer cooperation and taking the ties to newer heights.

The meeting was also joined by senior Foreign Ministry officials, executive members of NBAM, those at the Export Development Board, representatives of the Colombo Dock Yard and executives of the Sri Lanka boat and shipbuilding industry..

By Rediff News Bureau

head of next Wednesday’s India-Sri Lanka summit in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, which Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will attend, General Manoj Mukund Naravane, chief of the army staff, is in in Colombo.

In an unusual gesture, General Shavendra Silva, Sri Lanka’s army chief, received General Naravane at the Bandarnaike International Airport.

General Naravane, who was part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force which operated in Sri Lnka in the late 1980s, also called on President Gotabaya and his elder brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.

During his four-day visit to the island, the COAS will attend Exercise Mitra Shakti, involving troops of the Indian and Sri Lankan armies.Sponsored

New Delhi has serious concerns about China’s aggressive and growing presence in Sri Lanka — which has revived after the hiatus of the Maithripala Sirisena years — under the Rajapaksas’s rule.

In a statement released on the eve of General Naravane’s visit, the Indian high commission in Colombo described Sri Lanka as India’s ‘Priority One’ partner.

The Rajapaksa brothers are shrewd political operators and it will need Modi and the MEA’s guile to ensure that they don’t harm India’s interests in the neighbourhood by their relentless wooing of Beijing.

Please click on the images for a better look at General Naravane’s meeting with President Gotabaya, a former military man himself, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1991 from the Sri Lankan army.
An alumnus of the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School in Mizoram and the Defence Services Staff College in Tamil Nadu, the ruthless Gota — as he is known to many Sri Lankans — masterminded the 2009 military campaign that decimated the LTTE.

More like this

India’s Dilemma in Sri Lanka‘India cannot take Gotabaya for granted’

All Photographs: PTI Photo

By Dr. Tilak S Fernando Courtesy Ceylon Today

By Dr. Tilak S Fernando

The nature of a crime is an inter-reaction with society. There is nothing, philosophical, to distinguish one crime from that another. There are various murders, but it does not include all human beings alone but covers a broader range of killings involving pets, shootings, etc. Recently, Sri Lankan TV highlighted a murder where a son killed his mother and severed his mother’s neck with a sharp knife.

 Jack, the Ripper in England, was an unidentified serial killer active in East London’s Whitechapel in 1888. He reigned murders, specialising in female prostitutes and assassinated them from slums of East London. He was an Englishman and thought to be a qualified surgeon. His speciality was to cut- throats and mutilate abdominal organs with a sharp surgical knife. Because of this very fact, he became a suspect as someone who had anatomical and surgical knowledge. 

Expert view 

Experts’ investigations showed that deep lacerated wounds on all the prostitutes murdered. Those wounds were extensively in the abdominal and genital areas. After killing the prostitutes, the murderer removed the internal organs and placed those on the victims’ faces.

 It was said to be his modus operandi. In one of the murders, a blunt object was forced into the victim’s vagina, rupturing her peritoneum ( the serous membrane that lines the abdominal cavity, which supports the abdomen’s organs and acts as a conduit for the passage of nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatics). She died the following day at a London Hospital. 

Listing 

His first victim, Tabram, was murdered on the staircase on a landing in George Yard, Whitechapel, on 7 August, 1888. She suffered thirtynine stab wounds to her throat, lungs, heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and abdomen, with additional knife wounds inflicted to her breasts and vagina. The murderer had used a sharp instrument such as a surgical knife. 

Investigations showed that her assassin was right-handed. However, but the victim was not raped but repeatedly stabbed. Tabrim’s murder differed from subsequent murders. Another victim was Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, aged 42. On Friday, 31 August in 1888, one of London’s East End workers, George Cross, was on foot as early as 3.40 a.m. along a dimly lit alleyway in Whitechapel.

 Suddenly he stumbled across a bundle of tarpaulin under a dimly lit gas lamp. He found a woman’s dead body, whom the police identified as Mary Ann Nichols, a well-known prostitute as Polly. Her throat was slashed from ear to ear, and her body was ripped open by a surgical knife.

 The wound extended from the groin to her breastbone. The metropolitan Police were shocked to discover her disembowelled body. She was one of the supremacies of murders by this mysterious killer whose mutilations rocked the Government of the day. 

A week later, he was at it again. This time his victim was 5 ft tall, stocky Annie Chapman, known as ‘Dark,’ who was another prostitute. The killing was done in the same pattern. Her head was separated; her stomach cut opened, and her intestines removed. The coroner at the inquest remarked: No unskilled person could have done this!” On repeated attempts, Jack the Ripper killed two more women on the same night. 

The first victim was six feet tall Swedish bornElizabeth stride, whose throat was slashed. A pedestrian noticed blood was pouring out of her throat. Amazingly, she had no other injuries to her body. Perhaps it was thought Ripper was interrupted before he could finish his horrific work. 

Within 45 minutes of Elizabeth Stride’s killing, Ripper got down to his business of gruesome murders yet again with a vengeance. He murdered Catherine Eddows, the 43-year-old prostitute. Her ears, cheeks and eyes were slashed and part of her inside skilfully removed! Her mutilated body was found at 1.45 a.m. As the murderer went deeper and deeper into his ‘human carving,’ Jack the Ripper became more and more confident. 

He wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee once, addressing the letter ‘ from Hell’, and enclosed a partly cooked human kidney in the parcel. While Jack the Ripper was engaged in his gruesome killings, he bravely wrote letters to various authorities throwing challenges, perhaps, seeking publicity! He once wrote a letter in red ink and to the Editor of the Central News Office in London in 1888 and signed as ‘ Jack the Ripper’. 

The text of the letter was as follows: 

I keep hearing that the police caught me, but they won’t be able to fix me just yet! I laughed when they said so. Police are so clever, spreading rumours or flattering themselves and saying they are on the right track to catch me! But I am busy on prostitutes, and I shall not quit until I finish the lot. In my last job, I gave the woman no time to scream. So, how can they catch me? I love my work and continue to do so. 

You will hear soon about my funny little games. In my next job, I shall clip the victim’s (woman) ears off and send it to the Police just for fun. My knife is so sharp, and I want to get into business straight away if I get a chance. Good luck. Yours truly, Jack the Ripper. I do not mind giving my trade name.” On 9 November 1888, Jack the Ripper attacked his final victim, a pregnant 23-year-old Mary of her left was only a mass of raw flesh. Her heart was removed and placed on a pillow beside her body. 

Prime suspects 

The horrific murders have not been able to solve up to this day. As a result, London’s Whitechapel currently has become a tourist attraction to see the mysteries of Jack the Ripper’s crimes. Who was this blood-crazed murderer who appeared to enjoy such brutality? It is uncertain, but it seems whoever he is, that the murderer was dead against the prostitutes. 

Prime suspects of the crimes were John Druitt’s Barrister, hailed from a medical family. He was known to be either insane or on his way to insanity. He committed suicide in December 1888 by drowning in the River Thames. The second suspect was Sir Melville McNaughton, who worked for the Scotland Yard at that time. The other suspects were Michael Ostorg, a Russian doctor, as a ‘homicide lunatic’ in a mental hospital. Polish Jew, Kosminski, who became insane due to ‘long periods of solitary immorality’ was among the few suspects and a wealthy lawyer, Montagu Druitt. 

Royalty

 The Duke of Clarence’s, eldest son of (future King of England) Edward VII, was also suspected of all the murders. However, at the time of two of Jack the Ripper’s murders, the duke was supposed to in Scotland. He died in 1892. Another flank to the rumour was that the Duke of Clarence married secretly, without the consent of the Royal family, and the Whitechapel prostitutes blackmailed the Royal family. Therefore, the Duke of Clarence wanted to silence all the prostitutes and got rid of them all. 

Jack the Ripper’s unsolved story 

In November 1987, nearly a hundred years after Jack the Ripper’s assassinations, the Metropolitan Police Scotland Yard received a large brown envelope based on anonymity. 

The envelope was sent from Croydon in South London and triggered curiosity once again among the detectives. After extensive checks performed, the contents inside the ‘brown envelope’ proved missing ‘on Jack the Ripper’s case, which was supposed to connect with five of Jack the Ripper’s murders in Whitechapel. The missing contents in the brown envelope were believed to have triggered a massive cover-up to protect prominent persons in the British society, such as the Duke of Clarence, the Royal physician Sir William Gull and the wealthy lawyer Montagu Druitt. 

Amidst the papers found in the brown envelope was a letter signed by Jack the Ripper, which coincided with the information in the police already in their old records! All other vital papers from the ‘Ripper file’ were still missing. 

Scotland Yard admitted in 1987 that they have no idea where the contents in the brown envelope were.” At that time, Deputy Commissioner of Scotland yard was quoted as saying: It is still a great mystery, but at least we have a complete file!” Don Rumbelow published a book ‘The complete Jack the Ripper, published by W.H. Allen (Book publishers). 

At the end of the book, the author asks a simple question. Who was Jack the Ripper? ” His selfanswer was: I have always had the feeling that on the Day of Judgement, Jack the Ripper steps forward and call out his actual name! Until such time we all must look impassively at each other and ask, Who?

 tilakferanando@gmail.com 

 කාංචනා විජයබණ්ඩාර මව්බිම දැන්

ඇතැම් අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල පත්‍රිකා නිසි ලෙස සාකච්ඡා කිරීමට ප්‍රමාණවත් කාලයක් නොගෙන වහා ම සම්මත කර ගන්නා බවත් එලෙස ක්‍රියා කිරීම සුදුසු ක්‍රමයක් නොවන බවත් කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ මහතා පවසයි.

පවතින පොහොර ගැටලුව සම්බන්ධයෙන් සලකා බැලීමේදී ද ඒ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගත් තීරණ මෙම වසංගත කාලය තුළ ක්‍රියාත්මක කළ හැකි ද? ඊට ගොවි ජන මනස සකසා ගත හැකි ද? ආදිය සම්බන්ධ නිසි පරිදි සාකච්ඡා කොට සැලසුම් සකසා ගැනීමට කටයුතු කළා නම් ඇතැම් දේ පවතිනවාට වඩා නිවැරදි වීමට ඉඩ තිබූ බව ඔහු සඳහන් කළේය. 

“සමහර අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල පත්‍රිකා එදා එනවා එදා දිනයේ ම අනුමත කර ගන්නවා. ඕනෑ ම හොඳ දෙයක් වුණත් ක්‍රියාවට නගද්දි හොඳ සැලසුම් සහිතව ක්‍රියාවට නගන්න ඕනෑ. ඒ වගේ ම කාලය, දීපය, දේශය, කුලය, මව ඕවා හොඳට හොයන්න ඕනෑ. මේ වසංගතයක් තියෙන කාලෙක මේ වගේ දෙයක් කරන්න පුළුවන් ද? ඒකට සමාජය බලගන්වන්න පුළුවන් ද? ඒකට ගොවි ජනතාව මානසිකව සූදානම් කරන්න පුළුවන් ද? ඒකට කෘෂිකර්ම ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ නිලධාරී යාන්ත්‍රණය සූදානම් කරන්න පුළුවන් ද? ඒ ඔක්කොම ගැන තක්සේරුවක් කරන්න පුළුවන් ද? විශේෂයෙන් ම රසායනික පොහොර සමාගම්වලින් එන්න පුළුවන් ප්‍රතික්‍රියාව කොහොම ද? ඒකට මුහුණ දෙන්නෙ කොයි විදියේ සැලසුමකින් ද? මේ විදියේ මහා සාකච්ඡාවකින්, සැලසුමකින් සිද්ධ විය යුතු දෙයක්. මේ වගේ වසංගත තත්ත්වයකට මුහුණ දීලා ඉන්න කාලෙක ඒ තීරණය ගත යුතු ද? කියන එකත් සලකා බැලිය යුතුව තියෙනවා. මේවා ගැන ප්‍රමාණවත් සාකච්ඡාවක් ආණ්ඩුව ඇතුළේ සිදුවුණා නම් සමහර දේවල් මීට වඩා නිවැරදිව කරන්න තිබුණා.”

ඔහු මාධ්‍ය වෙත අදහස් දක්වමින් මේ බව සඳහන් කළ අවස්ථාවේදී නිසි සාකච්ඡාවලින් තොරව රජය ඒකමතිකව තීරණ ගන්නවා ද? යනුවෙන් මාධ්‍යවේදියෙකු නැගූ පැනයකට පිළිතුරු දෙමින් ඔහු වැඩිදුරටත් සඳහන් කළේ මෙවැනි අදහසකි. 

“මම අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලය තුළදීත් මේක ප්‍රකාශ කළා. සමහර අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩල පත්‍රිකා එදා දිනයේ එනවා, එදා දිනයේදී ම ප්‍රමාණවත් සාකච්ඡාවක් නොමැතිව අනුමත කර ගන්නවා. ඒක සුදුසු ක්‍රමයක් නෙවෙයි කියලා මම ආමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලයේදී ප්‍රකාශ කළා. විවෘතවත් ප්‍රකාශ කරනවා.”

 කාංචනා විජයබණ්ඩාර 2021-10-14 16:19:00 | Updated 7 hours agoSHARE

Courtesy Adaderana

The total number of people, who died of COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka, moved up as 21 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Wednesday (October 13).

The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,429.

Latest victims include 15 males and 06 females, the Department of Government Information said.

According to official data, 16 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 05 people aged between 30-59 years have also succumbed to the virus infection.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Health Ministry reported that another 146 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, increasing the daily count of new cases to 673.

This pushes the tally of coronavirus cases confirmed in the country thus far to 529,755.

24,722 patients infected with the virus are currently under treated across the island while total recoveries has risen to 491,604. 

Courtesy NBC News

By Reuters

CASABLANCA, Chile — Down a dusty farm track in Chilean wine country, behind a wooden gate wrapped in chains, forestry experts are nursing a plantation of saplings whose bark holds the promise of potent vaccines.

Quillay trees, technically known as Quillaja saponaria, are rare evergreens native to Chile that have long been used by the indigenous Mapuche people to make soap and medicine. In recent years, they have also been used to make a highly successful vaccine against shingles and the world’s first malaria vaccine, as well as foaming agents for products in the food, beverage and mining industries.

Now two saponin molecules, made from the bark of branches pruned from older trees in Chile’s forests, are being used for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by drugmaker Novavax Inc (NVAX.O). The chemicals are used to make adjuvant, a substance that boosts the immune system.

Over the next two years, Maryland-based Novavax (NVAX.O) plans to produce billions of doses of the vaccine, mostly for low- and middle-income countries, which would make it one of the largest COVID-19 vaccine suppliers in the world.

With no reliable data on how many healthy quillay trees are left in Chile, experts and industry officials are divided on how quickly the supply of older trees will be depleted by rising demand. But nearly everyone agrees that industries relying on quillay extracts will at some point need to switch to plantation-grown trees or a lab-grown alternative.

A Reuters analysis of export data from trade data provider ImportGenius shows that the supply of older trees is under increasing pressure. Exports of quillay products more than tripled to more than 3,600 tonnes per year in the decade before the pandemic.

Ricardo San Martin, who developed the pruning and extraction process that created the modern quillay industry, said producers must immediately work toward making quillay products from younger, plantation-grown trees.

My estimate four years ago was that we were heading towards the sustainability limit,” he said.

San Martin said he has toiled through the COVID-19 pandemic in the basement of his oceanfront cabin in Sea Ranch, California, to refine a process that could help produce saponins from leaves and twigs in order to maximize the yield.

I am working as though this needs to be done yesterday,” said San Martin, who is also sponsoring a project in which drones would count quillay trees in remote and hard-to-access forests, to determine how many are left.

Quillay producers and their customers say the harvest can continue for now without decimating the supply of older trees.

We continue to monitor the situation in Chile, in close collaboration with our supplier, but at this time we are confident in our supply,” Novavax said in a statement to Reuters. The company also said it was confident that uses such as life-saving vaccines will be prioritized.”

The desert-plant extract company Desert King International Ltd, which runs the Casablanca plantation, is Novavax’s sole supplier of quillay extracts and Chile’s largest quillay exporter by far.

The company’s manager in Chile, Andres Gonzalez, told Reuters it is set to produce enough quillay extract from older trees to make up to 4.4 billion vaccine doses in 2022. With new supplies from privately owned native forests, they have enough raw material to meet demand for the rest of this year and part of next, he said.

Gonzalez said the company, where San Martin is a consultant, has built a new production plant and has the capacity to supply other interested pharmaceutical firms — all without harming the forests.

He acknowledged, however, that at some point these native forests will come to an end.”

We want to start having very productive plantations, and we are working on that,” he said.

A relatively small volume of quillay extract is required to make vaccines — just under one milligram per dose — but the supply is stretched by the demand from other industries. Quillay products are used, for instance, as a natural additive in animal feed, a biopesticide and an agent to reduce pollution in mining.

Individual quillay trees grow outside of Chile, but Chile is the only country where mature quillay is harvested from forests in large quantities.An elusive ingredient

Novavax’s adjuvant, known as Matrix-M, contains two key saponin molecules. One of those, called QS-21, is more difficult to access because it is found mainly in trees that are at least 10 years old.

Among major pharmaceutical companies, only GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.L) and Novavax have bet heavily on QS-21, a relatively new pharmaceutical ingredient.

GSK’s highly successful vaccine against shingles, Shingrix, and several other promising experimental vaccines contain QS-21 supplied by Desert King. In a statement, GSK said it has no specific challenges relating to sustainable supply” of QS-21.

The quillay-based adjuvant used in Shingrix is also part of the world’s first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix. Despite low efficacy, it was approved by European regulators in 2015 and recommended for pilot introduction by the WHO in 2016 because of dire need.

No other COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are relying on quillay bark extracts. Some drugmakers are developing synthetic alternatives, but these could be years from regulatory approval. Switching out the ingredients in any existing vaccine would require new clinical studies to prove the product is safe and effective.

The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company Agenus stopped selling bark-derived QS-21 several years ago to focus full-time on trying to grow it from quillay plant cells in a laboratory.

The shortage of QS-21 has been an issue for a while,” said Jason Paragas, Agenus vice president of strategic initiatives and growth exploration. We saw it before COVID, and we made the hard decision that we had to change.”

Paragas said it is too soon to say when an alternative could be ready.

Entrepreneur Gaston Salinas said his Davis, California-based startup Botanical Solution Inc can already produce QS-21 from quillay tissue starting with seeds in the lab, and aims to eventually produce the chemical on a large scale to supply pharmaceutical companies.

You cannot afford to over-exploit the native Chilean forest because of a desire to develop modern vaccines. You need to find other ways to develop your products, even if it’s something so important, ” he said.An eye toward the future

Inside the gate of the carefully guarded Desert King plantation, gardeners carefully tend to the young trees using fertilizers and bountiful supplies of water. They were cloned from full-grown cousins whose dusty gray bark was especially rich in saponins.

If all goes well, the plantation could be producing for one customer in two to three years, according to Desert King’s business development manager Damian Hiley. He declined to name the company.

Desert King has its eye on future vaccines, some already in the works.

In early 2020, for instance, GSK licensed an experimental tuberculosis vaccine that contains GSK’s QS-21-based adjuvant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. It showed promising results in a mid-stage trial.

And in April, researchers at Oxford University announced that a new malaria vaccine containing Novavax’s Matrix-M adjuvant appeared to be highly effective in a trial involving 450 children in Burkina Faso.

Gustavo Cruz, a researcher at the University of Chile who worked with San Martin to industrialize production of quillay, said he generally trusts quillay producers to manage supply and demand. He is more worried about other threats — specifically drought and fire.

The trees do eventually regrow,” he said, but there comes a time when they don’t anymore.”

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Ricardo San Martin, a Chilean expert on the Quillay soapbark tree and its industrial uses (Reuters)

• These rare evergreens native to Chile have long been used by the indigenous Mapuche people to make soap and medicine
• One company has enough extract to develop 4.4 billion vaccine doses in 2022

Down a dusty farm track in Chilean wine country, behind a wooden gate wrapped in chains, forestry experts are nursing a plantation of saplings whose bark holds the promise of potent vaccines.
Quillay trees, technically known as Quillaja saponaria, are rare evergreens native to Chile that have long been used by the indigenous Mapuche people to make soap and medicine. In recent years, they have also been used to make a highly successful vaccine against shingles and the world’s first malaria vaccine, as well as foaming agents for products in the food, beverage and mining industries.

Now two saponin molecules, made from the bark of branches pruned from older trees in Chiles forests, are being used for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by drugmaker Novavax Inc. The chemicals are used to make adjuvant, a substance that boosts the immune system.
Over the next two years, Maryland-based Novavax plans to produce billions of doses of the vaccine, mostly for low- and middle-income countries, which would make it one of the largest COVID-19 vaccine suppliers in the world.

With no reliable data on how many healthy quillay trees are left in Chile, experts and industry officials are divided on how quickly the supply of older trees will be depleted by rising demand. But nearly everyone agrees that industries relying on quillay extracts will at some point need to switch to plantation-grown trees or a lab-grown alternative.
A Reuters analysis of export data from trade data provider ImportGenius shows that the supply of older trees is under increasing pressure. Exports of quillay products more than tripled to more than 3,600 tonnes per year in the decade before the pandemic.

Ricardo San Martin, who developed the pruning and extraction process that created the modern quillay industry, said producers must immediately work toward making quillay products from younger, plantation-grown trees.
My estimate four years ago was that we were heading towards the sustainability limit, he said. San Martin said he has toiled through the COVID-19 pandemic in the basement of his oceanfront cabin in Sea Ranch, California, to refine a process that could help produce saponins from leaves and twigs in order to maximize the yield.
I am working as though this needs to be done yesterday, said San Martin, who is also sponsoring a project in which drones would count quillay trees in remote and hard-to-access forests, to determine how many are left.
Quillay producers and their customers say the harvest can continue for now without decimating the supply of older trees.

We continue to monitor the situation in Chile, in close collaboration with our supplier, but at this time we are confident in our supply, Novavax said in a statement to Reuters. The company also said it was confident that uses such as life-saving vaccines will be prioritized.
The desert-plant extract company Desert King International Ltd, which runs the Casablanca plantation, is Novavaxs sole supplier of quillay extracts and Chile’s largest quillay exporter by far.

The company’s manager in Chile, Andres Gonzalez, told Reuters it is set to produce enough quillay extract from older trees to make up to 4.4 billion vaccine doses in 2022. With new supplies from privately owned native forests, they have enough raw material to meet demand for the rest of this year and part of next, he said.
Gonzalez said the company, where San Martin is a consultant, has built a new production plant and has the capacity to supply other interested pharmaceutical firms – all without harming the forests.
He acknowledged, however, that at some point these native forests will come to an end. We want to start having very productive plantations, and we are working on that,” he said.

A relatively small volume of quillay extract is required to make vaccines – just under one milligram per dose – but the supply is stretched by the demand from other industries. Quillay products are used, for instance, as a natural additive in animal feed, a biopesticide and an agent to reduce pollution in mining.
Individual quillay trees grow outside of Chile, but Chile is the only country where mature quillay is harvested from forests in large quantities.

Year old Quillay soapbark trees are seen at the University of California in Berkeley (Reuters)

• Some drugmakers are developing synthetic alternatives, but these could be years from regulatory approval
• In recent years, they have also been used to make the world’s first malaria vaccine

AN ELUSIVE INGREDIENT 

Novavaxs adjuvant, known as Matrix-M, contains two key saponin molecules. One of those, called QS-21, is more difficult to access because it is found mainly in trees that are at least 10 years old.
Among major pharmaceutical companies, only GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Novavax have bet heavily on QS-21, a relatively new pharmaceutical ingredient.

GSKs highly successful vaccine against shingles, Shingrix, and several other promising experimental vaccines contain QS-21 supplied by Desert King. In a statement, GSK said it has no specific challenges relating to sustainable supply of QS-21.
The quillay-based adjuvant used in Shingrix is also part of the worlds first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix. Despite low efficacy, it was approved by European regulators in 2015 and recommended for pilot introduction by the WHO in 2016 because of dire need.

No other COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are relying on quillay bark extracts. Some drugmakers are developing synthetic alternatives, but these could be years from regulatory approval. Switching out the ingredients in any existing vaccine would require new clinical studies to prove the product is safe and effective.
The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company Agenus stopped selling bark-derived QS-21 several years ago to focus full-time on trying to grow it from quillay plant cells in a laboratory.
The shortage of QS-21 has been an issue for a while, said Jason Paragas, Agenus vice president of strategic initiatives and growth exploration. We saw it before COVID, and we made the hard decision that we had to change.
Paragas said it is too soon to say when an alternative could be ready.

Entrepreneur Gaston Salinas said his Davis, California-based startup Botanical Solution Inc can already produce QS-21 from quillay tissue starting with seeds in the lab, and aims to eventually produce the chemical on a large scale to supply pharmaceutical companies.
You cannot afford to over-exploit the native Chilean forest because of a desire to develop modern vaccines. You need to find other ways to develop your products, even if its something so important, he said.

• A new production plant has been built which has the capacity to supply other interested pharmaceutical firms – all without harming the forests
• Molecules made from the bark of these branches pruned from older trees are now being used for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by drugmaker Novavax Inc.
• Among major pharmaceutical companies, only GlaxoSmithKline and Novavax have bet heavily on this relatively new pharmaceutical ingredient

AN EYE TOWARD THE FUTURE

Inside the gate of the carefully guarded Desert King plantation, gardeners carefully tend to the young trees using fertilizers and bountiful supplies of water. They were cloned from full-grown cousins whose dusty gray bark was especially rich in saponins.
If all goes well, the plantation could be producing for one customer in two to three years, according to Desert Kings business development manager Damian Hiley. He declined to name the company.
Desert King has its eye on future vaccines, some already in the works.

In early 2020, for instance, GSK licensed an experimental tuberculosis vaccine that contains GSKs QS-21-based adjuvant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. It showed promising results in a mid-stage trial. And in April, researchers at Oxford University announced that a new malaria vaccine containing Novavaxs Matrix-M adjuvant appeared to be highly effective in a trial involving 450 children in Burkina Faso.

Gustavo Cruz, a researcher at the University of Chile who worked with San Martin to industrialize production of quillay, said he generally trusts quillay producers to manage supply and demand. He is more worried about other threats – specifically drought and fire.
The trees do eventually regrow, he said, but there comes a time when they don’t anymore. 

(REUTERS)

The bark of the tree is used to extract molecules to make vaccines against malaria and COVID-19

by Melanie Manel Perera Courtesy AsiaNews.it

The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama published a leaflet against extremism calling on the faithful to practise moderation”. Saddened by the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, they criticise those who instigate hatred and forget the contributions of Muslims to the nation.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) said it was alarmed at the constant media reports about the possibility of another terrorist attack similar to those of Easter Sunday in 2019.

The organisation of Islamic scholars is encouraging the country’s Muslims to read a leaflet (written by them in Tamil and Sinhala) against extremist tendencies, and asking them to be vigilant and cautious”.

We appeal to the community to be wary of the ISIS and similar terrorist organizations which are misleadingly and falsely representing themselves as protectors of Islam while they are widely perceived as being orchestrated by elements hostile to Islam and all religions.” the ACJU said in the statement issued last Friday.

According to Sri Lankan ulema, Muslim scholars around the world have declared terrorist groups anti-Islamic. Already in 2015, the ACJU and other civil society organisations had issued a statement saying that terrorist movements go against the teachings of Islam.

We are deeply saddened by the fact that innocent civilian lives were lost and many suffered injuries in the brutal attacks carried out by terrorists on the Easter Sunday on 21st April 2019. We need to emphasize that our community has made innumerable contributions and sacrifices in the national interest,” they said.

It is however disappointing to note that a situation has arisen, where vested interests are continuing to instigate distrust and hatred on a grossly false basis against Muslims, following the cowardly and brutal terrorist attacks carried out by a few misguided elements with Muslim names, while overlooking the invaluable contribution of the community towards this nation.”

Muslim scholars again exhorted the faithful to practise moderation”. To this end, in its statement, ACJU asked all district divisions and mosque keepers to be vigilant in this regard and strive to build closer relationships with all communities”.

by M. P. Dhanapala Former Director, Rice Research and Development, Department of Agriculture Courtesy The Island

maddumadhanapala@yahoo.com,

Tel. 0718412444

Some groups emerge time to time from different professions, with the enthusiasm of promoting traditional rice varieties free of toxic contaminants for consumption. Traditional varieties are highlighted as healthy and nutritious, but with little or no scientific evidence. In this connection, a resource person of traditional rice farming gave a seminar on the perspectives of organically produced traditional rice varieties under the theme Beyond Illusion to Reality” at the Jayawardenapura University.

According to him, each of us can have enough rice from traditional varieties to consume three meals a day from an extent of 1,260,000 acres (0.51m ha.) with an average productivity of 60 bushels per acre (3t/ha), assuming a daily rice requirement of 330 grams per head. I am very confused by this statement. It appears that something is wrong with the calculations, but it is difficult to verify as the milling outturn, cropping intensity and the population size assumed were not stated. This is utterly misleading; do your calculations once more and verify please.

Also, he quoted some per acre yield figures of traditional varieties; Dik wee (102 bu.), Masuran (98 bu.), Pachchaiperumal (84 bu.) and Pokkali (82 bu.) from undisclosed cultivated extents; the cultivation was practised without inorganic fertilizers. I presume he used organic manure regularly though not quantified, and probably agrochemical free weed control practices. The other pests were controlled by timely cultivation using traditional knowledge – initiation of crop establishment seven days after full moon (the first dark night).

Involvement of private companies in the rice trade – buying paddy cheap at Rs.60/kg and selling rice at Rs.350/kg – was identified as a stumbling block in popularizing traditional varieties and he appealed to the general public to purchase the production at Rs. 145/kg of rice, variety Suwandel in particular. No doubt, everybody would purchase traditional rice at that price. It occurred to me why this dedicated group of farmers cannot organize themselves to form a cooperative and develop a traditional rice market.

That the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) took away our traditional varieties is a complaint made periodically by these critics. It is true that IRRI collected in1970s the endangered rice cultivars in different countries for conservation for the future use and stored over one million rice accessions in cold rooms in their gene bank. This would not have happened without the approval of the respective governments. They implement many international collaborative programs in rice research and any researcher can have access to the material in their gene bank under the conditions laid down by the institute.

We received from IRRI our share of traditional varieties for conservation once the Plant Genetic Resources Center (PGRC) was established in 1990. These facts may be verified from IRRI before making undiplomatic statements. To my mind, no other country in the world cultivates our traditional varieties, legally or illegally, for commercial purposes; the unfounded allegations made in public seminars without evidence is unethical and unparliamentary. Furthermore, we do not have any intellectual property rights or breeder’s rights to protect our varieties.

According to the speaker, there were around 6,000 traditional rice varieties cultivated in the past. We have compiled the names of traditional varieties grown in Ceylon from the past literature, but were able to collect only 567 names listed by Molegoda (1924), probably inclusive of the names of 300 samples of traditional varieties displayed by Nugawela Disawe in Agri-Horticultural Exhibition (1902) in Kandy, and 42 names (El Wee) listed by de Zoysa (1944) (Sri Lankan Rice Varieties from the Past to Present, Dept. of Agriculture, 2021). It would be a thankful task if the list of names of the 6,000 different traditional varieties could be provided to the Department of Agriculture for compilation and updating of the list.

One should not confuse the terminology used in the rice market with variety names; Kora, Mal Kora, Samba (red, white), Nadu (red, white), Kekulu (red, white, rosa), Suduru Samba, Keeri Samba etc. are names used in the rice market. Among them, Suduru Samba” is the only name identifying a variety. Rice in other countries is identified by the name of the variety. For example: Koshi hikari (Japan), Dinarado (Philippines), Basmathi (Pakistan), Kao Dwak Malee/Jasmine Rice (Thailand) etc.

In almost all of the countries, rice is consumed as raw milled. We are among the handful of nations consuming par-boiled rice; probably the only country consuming red pericarped rice. According to the speaker, Keeri Samba is a traditional variety. I am always in favor of Bg 360 remaining as Bg 360 in the rice market. However, Keeri Samba is a name that appeared in the rice market, after introduction of Bg 360 in 1996.

Consumption of keeri samba (Bg 360) would end up with the future generation of children in the cancer hospital as there is indiscriminate use of toxic herbicides to control weeds, because of its dwarf plant stature,” is an unsubstantiated statement, made by the presenter of this seminar. The breeder of Bg 360 (so-called Keeri Samba) is not among us to defend his case but, as the team-leader who spearheaded the rice breeding program, I like to declare that this is the first variety we have developed with improved eating quality. The adverse comments on Bg 360 would not affect the popular demand for this variety, but as rice breeders we would appreciate if the price tag of Bg 360 is in par with other samba varieties, with a reasonable profit margin.

There are many critics condemning modern rice varieties on different grounds as sources of non-communicable diseases. Most of the critical statements on modern varieties are discussed in page 11- 17 of Govikam Sangarawa, June 2020 issue, Department of Agriculture. Also, I invite the attention of all the participants of the seminar Beyond Illusion to Reality” to the u-tube presentation of Dr. Pethiyagoda (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGe6ld2q1vs) to understand the basics; precision and accuracy in scientific investigations, the definition of data/opinion/statements and valid interpretation of results, especially the cause and effect relationship in experimentation.

The misconceptions, distortion and misinterpretation of facts were highlighted and discussed in that seminar. The organizers of scientific seminars should have this knowledge to prevent misleading the general public, as such seminars can inculcate absolutely wrong concepts and facts regarding important and relevant topics of current interest, in the minds of the inquisitive listeners, thereby leading to lot of damage.

A couple of years ago, as a farmer, I had to attend a seminar given by another enthusiast of traditional rice varieties. The seminar was organized by the Divisional Agrarian Service Office, Weke, Kirindiwela. Probably these seminars cannot be mutually exclusive events. Some seeds of traditional rice varieties were distributed among farmers in the audience at the outset and the main speaker began the speech. The hall was full. He introduced himself a descendant of Yakkha”, probably to impress the audience of his cell lineage with Ravana.” He spoke of Siyane Korale, the great poet, Mahagama Sekera and his book Yasodhara”.

Most interestingly, the speaker was trying to describe the date that the world ended according to the Calendar of Mayans, the South American tribe. He said though the world did not end on that particular day, it was marked by yellow colored rains bringing fish from outer space. The audience appeared hypnotized. (As a 10-year old, I have listened to fiction of this nature in our Sunday Fair from a man who wanted to sell a precious oil that Ven. Thotagamuwe Rahula thero overdosed himself with. My father was convinced by that speech and bought a capsule of two drops of oil and squeezed it on my tongue. It had the taste of coconut oil. In fact, it was coconut oil.) What a loss of precious time”? I thought.

There were many other fairy tales by the resource person, that probably have skipped my mind. After about one hour or so, he said that traditional varieties of rice were capable of giving 60 bushels per acre (3.0 t/ha) whereas the so called improved varieties of Batalagoda could give only 80 bushels (4.0 t/ha)”, but without any scientific procedure of comparison and that he would disclose to the audience how to bridge this gap. I waited for another hour biting my tongue to learn the process of bridging the yield gap; but nothing was delivered. I left the hall after two and half hours, in the middle of the presentation with the long face of the chief organizer on me.

The historical aspects of genetic improvement of rice were compiled recently (Dhanapala et. al. 2021, Tropical Agriculturist, Sept, 2021) to rationally look at the pros and cons of rice breeding and its consequences. As breeders, we were concerned about rice production in all agro ecological regions in the country, not only in one isolated patch of land or region or ecology. We were getting a national average of less than 15 bushels per acre (0.75 t/ha.) prior to 1950s with traditional varieties (Rhind, 1949) and around 98 bushels per acre (4.8 t/ha) in 2020 with modern varieties. These were figures recorded in the Ceylon Government Blue Books during the British era and in the Census and Statistics Department of Sri lanka at present.

In the 1920s, British scientists initiated pure-line selection for the improvement of traditional varieties. They did not work in isolation, but had consistent dialogue with key members of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, to mention a few: Mudaliyar J. P. Obeyesekera, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, J. C. Ratwatte Disawa, Dr. Rajasingham, Mr. K. B. Baddewela etc. They were in the forefront leading the discussions. If the present day traditional rice enthusiasts were born earlier, they could have contributed to the traditional rice improvement immensely during that era. Then, rice varietal improvement would possibly have taken a different path. However, rice was imported during the British era too despite all these efforts.

Though the breeders treated rice as the major staple of the country, one should not ignore the other claims made with traditional varieties despite no scientific evidence being produced, clinically or otherwise. Much of the knowledge may have accumulated through trial and error basis over a period of time. In Vidusara” (2020/10/28), a list of traditional rice varieties was published, rich in nutritional and medicinal qualities (Fernando, 2020). Similar lists of varieties are displayed frequently in herbal medicinal shops. They include predominantly Pachchaiperumal, Suwandel, Kalu Heenati, Sudu Heenati, Goda Heenati, Kuruluthuda, some Ma Wee types etc. either identified as rich sources of nutrients; vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and proteins or having medicinal properties to contain blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and/or improve the immunity system.

Among these varieties, Kuruluthuda was specifically highlighted to have aphrodisiac properties (Fernando, 2020). We need analytical procedures; biochemical, molecular biological or any other, to identify the active ingredient and/or to quantify these properties and establish the bio-chemical pathways conferring the said effects to claim patent rights. Who knows that ‘Viagra’ can be replaced with a meal of Kuruluthuda? However, Kuruluthuda as reported in literature is a white pericarped, photo-period sensitive, date fixed variety and can be grown only during the Maha season (Gunawardena and Wickramasekera, 1947 and Chandraratne, 1948), but Kuruluthuda as reported in Vidusara” is red pericarped, short duration and period fixed (Fernando, 2020). The authenticity of this variety needs verification. There are multiple accessions under the same name in the collection of traditional varieties at the PGRC and systematic evaluation and cataloguing of the germplasm is needed for future use. DNA fingerprinting may be helpful in identifying possible duplications.

Although the medical purpose of serving rice-soup (kanji/kenda) of traditional varieties is not clear, it was promoted on many occasions by the traditional rice lovers. Once a COVID 19 patient (first wave) claimed that he was cured by eating this rice-soup (Hela Suwaya Program, Siyatha TV, Ravana, 09/04/2020). There was a rice-soup program launched to feed school children recently, but discontinued probably due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The rice-soup program in the Cancer Hospital mentioned by the resource person of the seminar is being continued, may be as a therapeutic, preventive or immunity build-up measure and/or for developing resistance to infections. However, if the rice-soup improves the digestibility of rice, irrespective of its origin – traditional or modern – Bg 360 is the most easily digestible, the reason why its glycaemic index is high and people eat more.

Traditional rice varieties were known to have been introduced to Morawewa, Rajangana etc. by some groups recently, but the farmers did not continue cultivation due to some reason or another. If chemical inputs are not used and the yields are high, the traditional rice can be sold definitely cheap in the market and can compete with big-time millers of modern varieties by organizing the farmers to sell their product at the farmer cooperative shops. It needs the cooperation of all traditional rice lovers who believe that they can feed the nation with better quality, nutritive rice free of toxic contaminants; failing which the traditional rice technology is inappropriate. However, those who promote traditional rices should take the responsibility for food security in rice, which is so vital, as it remains as our staple food; i. e. availability in adequate quantities at affordable prices to feed all, not only a selfish high income group. Also the government must be compelled not to import cheap and low quality rices to feed the poor.

Courtesy The Island

A. Baur & Co. (Pvt.) Ltd., widely known as Baurs, a diversified business group and one of the pioneering innovators in agriculture in Sri Lanka, recently shared preliminary key insights and solutions for the country’s farming industry to successfully master the conversion from conventional to organic, backed by scientific evidence and sound knowledge drawing from both professional and practical experiences.

A. Baur & Co. (Pvt.) Ltd (Baurs), together with its contracted institutions namely Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL), in their findings upon their study visit suggested necessary steps for the country to embrace a successful transition from conventional to an organic production system within a short period of time.

The report highlighted that the conversion to an agricultural system without using synthetic fertilizers cannot function by just replacing mineral fertilizers with organic fertilizers, citing the fact that there needs to be sufficient organic fertilizers, including the importance of reactivating soils biologically as the current soil-plant system, accustomed to mineral fertilizers, is not adapted to digest and use them. Additionally, it also mentioned that larger quantities of raw materials need to be transported and spread in fields.

It stressed that the ecological conversion to an organic one requires a holistic change of concept, which will take several years including efforts towards capacity development. However, given the immediate ban in the country it recommended that farmers be provided with options for soil fertility management without synthetic fertilizers for the ongoing Maha season.

As the first step, it recommended large amounts of organic fertilizers be organized by importing such products and begin capitalizing on natural sources of nitrogen. Parallelly, potential sources of organic remains, such as waste from the food industry and markets and remains from the animal industry for instance, must be identified and explored in ways to valorize them as organic fertilizers. And that such recycling will also close nutrient cycles, contributing to a positive environmental impact.

Compost should play a crucial role especially in its role to activate soil biology and its contribution to stabilize soil structure which in turn brings numerous benefits, citing that quality composts can also reduce the incidence of plant diseases.

Secondly, it suggested a new holistic management towards agricultural production be undertaken which requires more time, supported by relevant skills and knowledge. Crop rotations or mixed cropping techniques, soil fertility management and selecting crop varieties that are appropriate for organic production are important tasks to act upon, all of which will result in an efficient and sustainable system in the long term.

Baurs is actively engaging with the team of senior experts from FiBL and HAFL who are also coordinating their efforts together with other relevant organisations, with the view of continuously studying the country’s ecological landscape and provide the best scientific and practical solutions and knowledge to embrace the transition challenge.

By Maya Anthony Courtesy Ceylon Today

By Maya Anthony 

The remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are regrouping in the UK. Like Osama bin Laden groomed Hamza bin Laden to succeed him, the LTTE leaders and members are grooming their own children.

 Prabhakaran too set an example by training and grooming his children; Charles Anthony, Dwarka and Balachandran. To radicalise their next generation, the separatists are promoting a false narrative. Using funds and votes, the terrorists are planning to penetrate both the Labour and Conservative Parties in the UK. 

The blood of a terrorist and the genes of terrorism run through the veins of Sarmila Varatharaj, the Vice-Chair of the ‘Tamils for Labour’ terrorist front. Her father, Kunddu Ragu alias Kannan was a top-level operative of one of the most ruthless, brutal and barbaric terrorist organisations on the planet; the LTTE. Having being defeated by the Sri Lankan Security Forces in 2009, Ragu now utilises his daughter to continue the battle for the creation of an imaginary Tamil Eelam; the ultimate goal of the terrorists.

 While Ragu used suicide bombers, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, his daughter Sarmila, uses lies, misinformation and political lobbying – both involved in attempting to destroy the harmony between the Tamil and Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka. Sarmila Varatharaj is a Communications and Social Media officer for the Tooting Labour Party and a Spokesperson for Global Human Rights Defence to the UNHRC in Geneva – a position of pure irony given that her family background is one of the darkest anyone would come across. 

Her father, Ragu, was a part of the inner circle of the megalomaniac terrorist, Velupillai Prabhakaran, who massacred a plethora of innocent Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslim civilians, whilst also launching attacks on places of worship, public gatherings, villages and economic localities. 

Being a ruthless terrorist, Ragu alias Kannan was a key figure in the brutal assassination of the democratically elected Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a female suicide bomber of the LTTE, where 14 other innocent lives were also decimated during the bombing. 

Just like the female suicide bomber released thousands of pieces of shrapnel and chemicals against democratically elected leaders and innocent civilians, Sarmila Varatharaj releases thousands of pieces of false truths and disinformation against democratically elected leaders and innocent civilians. In the months prior to their ultimate military defeat in 2009, the LTTE used tens of thousands of innocent Tamil civilians as human shields so that the top-level terrorists, like Ragu alias Kannan, could escape death. 

During this time, the LTTE front organisations and LTTE supporters in the West, like Sarmila Varatharaj, continually launched protests in support of the terrorists and spewed misinformation and hate against the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. In her speech at the Labour Party Conference in September 2021, Sarmila knowingly or unknowingly exposed the true nature of the ‘Tamils for Labour’ organisation. 

She unapologetically stated that the organisation was established 16 years ago to divert the 400,000 Tamils living in the United Kingdom to politically vote for the British Labour Party in exchange for the Labour Party’s support. Sarmila’s exposition was a classic example of how the LTTE terrorist fronts in the West attempt to gain political support through lobbying and minority votes in order to realise their lifelong investment – the LTTE. 

Ragu alias Kannan, along with thousands of other deadly terrorists in the North and East of Sri Lanka waged a fearful campaign of terror and destruction in the island nation for over 30 years. The LTTE was responsible for thousands of civilian deaths and almost a hundred planned assassinations of political opponents, military leaders and officials of all races alike. 

The LTTE was a transnational terrorist group responsible for staging attacks on multiple nations and building a network across the world for arms procurement, shipping and fund raising. Sarmila repeatedly mentions the unsubstantiated claim of a Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka. 

Must she be reminded that the Sri Lankan State rescued more than 60,000 Tamils from being exploited as human shields by people like her father, in what would become the world’s largest hostage rescue mission? Must she be reminded that members of her immediate family were responsible for the cold-blooded murder of children and women in the villages of Sri Lanka? Must she be reminded about how her father was part of the inner circle that carried out the brutal massacres of innocent pilgrims in places of worship around Sri Lanka? Must she be reminded how people like her father stripped Tamil children of their childhood, provided them with RPGs and assault rifles and a miniature bottle of deadly cyanide to swallow in case of capture? The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was deemed one of the ‘most dangerous and deadly extremists’ by the Federal Bureau of Investigations [FBI]. 

The FBI also stated that the LTTE was deadlier than Al-Qaeda and that the LTTE’s ‘ruthless tactics have inspired terrorist networks worldwide’. Sarmila’s father was a high-level operative of the terrorist outfit that invented the suicide vest and the group that launched the largest amount of suicide attacks before the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. Perhaps, it is time that Sarmila dictates her father on the thousands of crimes he has committed against the innocent, before she disseminates misinformation against the Sri Lankan people. 

Perhaps, it is time that the British MPs, such as Stephen Kinnock, stop being fooled by the second-generation terrorist supporters and see the Sri Lankan war for what it really is; a war against deadly terrorism. Ragu alias Kannan once fought hard to destroy the harmony in the island nation and now, the second generation LTTE are trying their best to follow their parents’ footsteps and destroy the peace in the country, while living on their seats in foreign lands.

 Notwithstanding the efforts of the criminals, it is indisputable and impossible to separate the brotherhood of the Sinhalese and the Tamil ethnicities in Sri Lanka, who have lived side by side for hundreds of years. Like father, like daughter, the blood of terrorism flows through their veins – but the thick blood of the Sri Lankan will never be defeated by any form of terrorism. 

Writer: Maya Anthony is a Human Rights Activist from Jaffna.