Dilan De Silva Chartered Quantity Surveyor

1. Introduction

Disruptive innovation fundamentally transforms a sector by replacing expensive, complicated, and inaccessible products or services with much less expensive, simpler, and more convenient alternatives.” (Staker, P.1)

(Source: https://twitter.com/kenradio/status/1203204477655769088)	(Source: https://www.theengineeringcommunity.org/19-amazing-vintage-photos-that-show-how-people-worked-before-autocad/)	(Photograph by John Miranda: Source: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/wya/AcademicComputing/text/workstations.html)

Let’s take a few examples of disruptive innovations; Within just a decade, an expensive helicopter, a pilot and a camera were  replaced with an inexpensive drone, a single software reduced the requirements for many drafters to one, the computer creates an inexpensive, simple and convenient work environment when compared with  the pre-computer era work environment.

Online learning is also a disruptive innovation which provides an inexpensive, flexible and convenient learning environment compared to the traditional face to face learning.

Online learning has been started as a solution to provide learning facilities to students who have no alternative for learning and also to provide high-quality courses for the schools located in rural areas where experienced and well-qualified teachers are hard to find. (Staker, P.1).

1. The History of Online education in Sri Lanka

Until early 2000, distance education in Sri Lanka was primarily limited to a blended program which consisted of a print-based system with few face-to-face lectures conducted mainly by the Open University.

In 2002, University of Colombo School of Computing  established the National e-Learning Centre (NeLC)  funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) to provide  “Open, Flexible and Distributed e-Learning Environment to provide effective, efficient, scalable and economical learning opportunities to stakeholder communities in Universities, Schools, the Public Sector and Society at large”. Currently, it has made available more than 40 free online courses and is branded as ‘Vidupiyasa’ (www.e-learning.lk).

Later in 2003, the Distance Education Modernization Project (DEMP) aided by the Asian Development Bank commenced resulting in a positive movement in the resources available for online education. The DEMP has established the National Online Distance Education Service (NODES) to facilitate the universities and other private and public sector post-secondary educational institutions to deliver the online educational program. The Access Centers” established under the DEMP, the Nanasala” established under the E-Sri Lanka” initiative by the Government Initiative Information and Communication Technology Agency(ICTA) and “Sarvodaya” centers, played a virtual role in providing access to the online component of various educational programs.

Among many other government initiatives, ‘One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)’ initiative launched by the Ministry of Education in 2011, and eBIT, the online version of the Bachelor of Information Technology degree offered by the University of Colombo introduced in 2003 are remarkable.

The online learning era of Sri Lanka has started as a novel tendency during the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020. It started becoming popular among learners from grade 1 to postgraduate level, as a solution to continue the education since the traditional face to face learning has stopped as the schools and universities were closed as a result of the actions taken by the government to manage the Coronavirus outbreak.

Even though many other developed countries use online learning to deliver various courses including post-graduate-level courses, in Sri Lanka, its usage is minimum. Online courses were conducted by very few government and private institutions. Currently, there are many online courses delivered by various public and private institutions, however, this will grow up further in the online learning era.

1. Why Online Education is Popular

Online education is more popular over traditional education mainly due to its flexibility and convenience. It’s not a necessity for the students to attend lectures according to a specific timetable and they can watch recorded lectures later which is very convenient specially for knowledge seekers who are also working. Since learners only require a good internet connection and a device like a computer to attend lectures, it saves the travelling time while overcoming the geographical barriers of learning.

On the other hand, course fee of online learning may lesser when compared with face to face learning, as the number of attendees in the former is theoretically unlimited, many costs associated with face to face learning such as building rent, utility and insurance cost are also eliminated. According to Loxley, Ho et al. (2003) as cited in Liyanagunawardena, T.R et at (2014), the average unit cost of the Open University of Sri Lanka (Conducts Distance learning) is circa 20% of the cost of the conventional university system.

Moreover, the multi-modal approach using a diverse range of teaching and learning activities will make online learning more effective and interesting. Also, it creates a conducive environment for the learners to interact with peers and the lecturer.

1. Government Intervention to Regulate Tertiary Education and/or Vocational Education Institutes

There is a strong government intervention to regulate tertiary education and vocational education through the Act No 20 of 1990(Tertiary and Vocational Education Act).

According to Article 14 of the Act, any institute which provides tertiary education and/or vocational education courses shall be registered under the Act (with Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission). Applications for the registration shall be submitted to the Director-General and the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission shall approve such application if they are satisfied with the report submitted by the Director-General on the institute’s ability to adequately provide tertiary education and/or vocational education.

Also, the Article 15 of the Act states that, no person or establishment shall conduct any tertiary education and vocational education course or tertiary education course or vocational education course being a specified course without being registered under this act”

1. Current Registration Process Conducted by TVEC

The current registration process accommodates only the face to face education providers and not the online education providers. The criteria for registration include the information regarding the institute’s permanent location, infrastructure such as classrooms (minimum 0.5m2 per student), sanitary facilities (Toilet requirement is 25: 1), safety and fire protection measures which are only required for face to face education providers. However, other criteria such as institute’s information, recordkeeping information, details of courses and academic staff information are common for both online and face to face education providers.

1. Importance of Registration of Online Education Providers

The Act empowered the TVEC for the registration of any institute which offers tertiary education and/or vocational education courses, therefore, it shall apply for the institutes which provide online education, whilst the act didn’t expressly address the mode of delivery either face to face or online.  Therefore, the current registration process conducted by TVEC is doing an injustice for the online education providers.

On the other hand, such a loophole will be diminishing the TVEC’s achievement of its third objective; the maintenance of academic and training standards in institutes providing tertiary education and vocational education”, as no other mechanism is available to register, monitor and control those online education providers. Kaye, 2002, as cited in Liyanagunawardena, T.R et at (2014) states that distance education programs conducted by state universities except the programs conducted by the Open University are heavily criticized for their quality.

Therefore, it’s vital for the online education providers to get registered in order to achieve the objectives of the Act.

1. Changes Required for the Current Registration Process Conducted by TVEC

As mentioned earlier, some criteria for registration are identical in both modes. However, criteria related to physical facilities shall not apply for the online education providers. A new set of criteria related to the technical and other online education specific requirements shall be introduced.

Online learning industry comprises many stakeholders including providers of learning management systems (e.g. Talent LMS), online assessments providers, online libraries (e.g. the Construction Information Service (CIS)), conference facility providers (e.g. Zoom), the plagiarism detection services (e.g. Turnitin) and various other online learning resources (e.g. Wiki) and tools (e.g. Google Form). Therefore, the technical and other specific requirements for the online education shall establish with due consideration to those stakeholders. For example, the criteria should include the specification for a Learning Management System (LMS) (as a substitute for the physical classroom) and a backup plan in case of a technical failure (as a substitute for the safety) among others.

The current registration process shall be modified to cater to the above addressed technical requirements and facilitate any new institutes to provide face to face and/or online education courses. Also, it is important to note that, since the current TVEC registered institutes have not been evaluated for their capability to deliver online education courses during the registration process, TVEC should assess their capabilities and permit them to deliver online education courses if they wish to deliver such courses.

1. Amendments Required to the Tertiary and Vocational Education Act

Even though the TVEC should treat the face to face and online teaching as two different methods as some capabilities required to deliver those are different, and register them differently, the Act has not differentiated them clearly. Therefore, any organisation which had been registered under the TVEC may conduct online education programmes even without any further registration whilst fully complying with the Act. However, the Commission, can make rules, under the Article 4(g) or 4(i) of the Act and request any such registered institute to get the approval from the Commission to conduct any online education courses, until such time the Act amended to distinguish the mode of delivery; face to face or online teaching.

1. Urgent Requirement for an Online Teaching Course

Teaching online is different from face to face teaching.  Lecturers may not possess expert skills in online teaching. So, it should be a mandatory requirement for all the online education providers to employ/hire a professional who has expert knowledge and skills on online teaching. They can guide the institutes/lecturers on online teaching; on the use of available resources/tools to teach and assess the learners, how to keep motivating the learners, etc. However, currently no such online teaching education courses are available in Sri Lanka. Therefore, TVEC shall treat it as an urgent requirement and coordinate with the relevant authorities and introduce at least an NVQ 4 level online teaching course. Until a sufficient number of qualified online teaching personnel become available in the country, provisional registration can be granted.

1. Online Library

Even though the current TVEC registration process is not looking for a (physical) library, the quality of the online education might be enhanced if an online library is available for the learners. However, most online libraries/databases are based on foreign countries (e.g. UK) and may not be affordable for small scale local institutes. So, it will be beneficial for the learners if the TVEC can coordinate with the government and establish an online library for the Sri Lankan online education providers at  an affordable price.

1. Conclusion

To get the best benefit from the online learning era, TVEC should promptly act on this matter and take necessary immediate and long-term actions to register online training providers, in order to get their contribution and also to expand the tertiary education and/or vocational education in Sri Lanka.

1. References
2. Staker, H. (2011). The Rise of K–12 Blended Learning. Innosight Institute.
3. Liyanagunawardena, T.R., Adams, A.., Rassool, N. and Williams, S.. (2014). Blended learning in distance education: Sri Lankan perspective. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT),

10(1), pp.55–69. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1071196.pdf [Accessed 2020 Aug. 29].

• 2013. Sri Lanka: Distance Education Modernization Project. [online] Colombo: Asian Development Bank. Available at: <https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/evaluation-document/36186/files/pvr-277.pdf> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
• E-learning.lk. 2020. FOOE: Free And Open Online Education | E-Learning.Lk. [online] Available at: <http://www.e-learning.lk/node/96> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
• Mozelius P., Hewagamage K.P., & Hansson H. (2011) Towards e-learning for all in Sri Lanka – progress and problems in some selected Sri Lankan 21st century initiatives., In Proceedings of The Fourteenth Cambridge International Conference on Open, Distance and e-Learning, Cambridge, England
• Tertiary and Vocational Education Act No 20 of 1990(Sri Lanka)

Dilan De Silva
Chartered Quantity Surveyor

dilanqs@yahoo.com

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

කොළඹ වරාය නගර ව්‍යාපෘතියේ 6 වැනි සංවත්සරය යෙදෙන අද 2020.09.17 දිනයේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා එහි නිරීක්ෂණ චාරිකාවට එක් විය.

වරාය නගරයේ සැහැල්ලු යාත්‍රාංගනය, පොදු වෙරළ තීරය නිරීක්ෂණය කළ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා එහි ස්ථාපිත වන ඇක්වා ගෝල්ෆ් ක්‍රීඩා පිටියට පැමිණ ගොල්ෆ් ක්‍රීඩාවේ ද නිරත විය.

අනතුරුව වරාය නගර මධ්‍ය උද්‍යානයේ  අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා විසින් මැයි මාර ගසක් රෝපණය කරන ලදී.

ඉදිවෙමින් පවතින වරාය නගරයේ ආදර්ශ ආකෘතිය සහිත ප්‍රදර්ශනය පීඨයට ගිය අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා දැනට සිදුවන ව්‍යාපෘතියේ යටිතල පහසුකම් සංවර්ධනය වන ආකාරය ගැන විමසා සිටියේය.

මෙහිදී අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා මෙසේද කීය,

චීන ජනාධිපතිතුමයි මමයි ආරම්භ කරපු මෙම ව්‍යාපෘතියට අදට වසර 6ක් ගත වෙනවා. පසුගිය කාලයේ සිදු වූ යම් යම් දේ නිසා වසර 2 පමණ එම ව්‍යාපෘතියේ වැඩ ප්‍රමාද වුණා. දැන් නැවත වරාය නගර ව්‍යාපෘතියේ වැඩ ආරම්භ වී තියෙනවා. අනාගත ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රධාන ආදායම් මාර්ගය බවට කොළඹ වරාය නගර ව්‍යාපෘතිය පත් වෙනවා. එමඟින් රැකියා 83000 පමණ බිහි වෙනවා. මෙම ව්‍යාපෘතිය සඳහා සමස්ත වියදම ඩොලර් බිලියන 15ක්. අපි කුඩා අවධියේ අසා තිබුණේ මුහුදට මේ රට ඛාදනය වෙනවා කියලා. පළමුවතාවට අපි මුහුද අපේ රටට එකතු කර ගත්තා. කොළඹ වරාය නගරය ඉදි කරන්න සහය වන චීන රජයට අපි ස්තූති වන්ත වෙනවා. චීන කොමියුනිට්ස් පක්ෂය හදලා වසර 100 ගත වෙනවා. එළඹෙන ඔක්තෝම්බර් 01 වෙනිදා මහජන චීන සමූහාණ්ඩුව ජාතික නිදහස් දිනය සමරනවා. අපි ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයින් හැටියට චීන ජනාධිපතිතුමා ඇතුලු සමස්ත චීන ජනතාවට අපේ සුභ පැතුම් එක් කරනවා.  යැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා පැවසීය.

චීන ජනාධිපති ෂී ජි පිං මහතාගේ හා එවකට ජනාධිපති, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් කොළඹ වරාය නගර ව්‍යාපෘතිය ආරම්භ වූයේ 2014 සැප්තැම්බර් 17 වෙනිදා ය. පසුගිය ආණ්ඩුවේ අදූරදර්ශී  වැඩපිළිවෙළ හේතුවෙන් වරාය නගර ව්‍යාපෘතිය වසරකට වැඩි කාලයක් ඇණ හිට තිබිණි.

වරාය නගරය වෙනුවෙන් හෙක්ටයාර 269 මුහුද ගොඩකර භුමිය සකසා ඇති අතර කිලෝමීටර 3.2 ක් දිගුවන දිය කඩනයේ ඉදිකිරීම් මේ වන විට අවසන් කර තිබේ.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන, කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ, වරාය හා නාවික අමාත්‍ය රෝහිත අබේගුණවර්ධන, මුදල් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය අජිත් නිවාඩ් කබ්රාල්, ශ්‍රී ලංකවේ වැඩ බලන චීන තානාපති හූ වෙයි,  කොළඹ වරාය නගර ව්‍යාපෘතියේ කළමනාකරණ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජියන් හෝයි ලින්ග් මහත්වරු ඇතුළු වරාය නගර ව්‍යාපෘතියේ නිලධාරීන් රැසක් එක්ව සිටියහ. 

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

කොළඹ කොටස් හුවමාරුව සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා සුරැකුම්පත් විනිමය කොමිෂන් සභාව එක්ව හඳුන්වා දෙන ලද  ඩිජිටල්කරණය  වූ කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළඳපොළ ජනගත කිරීමේ උත්සවය අද 2020.09.17 දින ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් කොළඹ කොටස් හුවමාරු පරිශ්‍රයේදී පැවැත් විණි.

”අනාගතයට අධි පිම්මක්  ”  (Hyper  leap to the future) යන තේමාව යටතේ සංවිධානය කර තිබූ මෙම සැමරුම් උත්සවය සඳහා එක්වුණු ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, ඩිජිටල්කරණය වූ කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළඳපොළ විවෘත කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවට එක් විය.

මෙහිදී සමරු සටහනක් තැබූ ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළඳපොළ හඳුන්වා දුන් නව වෙබ් අඩවිය අන්තර්ජාලයට මුදා හැරියේය.

ඩිජිටල්කරණ වැඩසටහන හරහා නව ආයෝජකයින් ට ශාඛා කාර්යාලයකට නොගොස් මධ්‍යම තැන්පතු ගිණුමක් විවෘත කිරීමට අවස්ථාව හිමි වේ.

ඒ අනුව කොළඹ කොටස් හුවමාරුව (CSE) ජංගම දුරකථන යෙදුම හරහා දිවයින පුරා විසිරී සිටින ආයෝජකයින්ට කොටස් වෙළඳපොළ හෝ තැරව්කාර ආයතනවලට යාමකින් තොරව ගිණුම් ආරම්භ කිරීමේ පහසුව සලසා දී තිබේ. එමඟින් නව ආයෝජකයින්ට කොටස් ගනුදෙනු සඳහා අවතීර්ණවීම කෙරෙහි බාධාවක්ව පැවති දුරස්ථභාවයේ ගැටලු මඟහැරී යනු ඇත.

ඩිජිටල්කරණ ව්‍යාපෘතියට සමගාමීව විශාල තොරතුරු ප්‍රමාණයක් අන්තර්ගත කරමින් කොළඹ කොටස් හුවමාරුව (CSE), SEC, CDS වෙබ් අඩවිය නව්‍යකරණයට ලක් කර තිබේ. ඒ යටතේ ආයෝජන, අධ්‍යාපන හා මූල්‍ය සාක්ෂරතාව අරමුණු කර ගනිමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා සුරැකුම්පත් හා විනිමට කොමිෂන් සසභාව හඳුන්වා දෙන You Tube නාලිකාවද අද දිනයේ එළි දක්වන ලදී.

කොළඹ කොටස් හුවමාරුවෙහි ජංගම දුරකථන යෙදුමෙහි නවතම සංස්කරණය ඔස්සේගිණුම් විවෘත කළ හැකි අතර වෙළඳ ගනුදෙනු කිරීම, ගෙවීම්  පියවීම සහ සිය ගිණුම් ඕනෑම ස්ථානයක කැමති වේලාවක පහසුවෙන් නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට පහසුකම් ඇත.

කොළඹ කොටස් වෙළඳපොළ  ඩිජිටල්කරණය  මඟින් අනාගතයේ දී ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ගෝලීය මූල්‍ය මධ්‍යස්ථානයක්  ලෙස තහවුරු වීම සිදුවේ.

මෙම උත්සවය සඳහා රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන  අජිත් නිවාඩ් කබ්රාල්, ශෙහාන් සේමසිංහ, ලොහාන් රත්වත්තේ, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් ගාමිණී සෙනරත්, මුදල් අමාත්‍යංශ ලේකම් එස්.ආර්. ආටිගල, ශ්‍රී ලංකා සුරැකුම්පත් විනිමය කොමිෂන් සභාවෙහි සභාපති, ජනාධිපති නීතීඥ විරාජ් දයාරත්න, අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් චින්තක මෙන්ඩිස් මහත්වරු සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ දූත මණ්ඩල වලින් පැමිණි ජ්‍යේෂ්ඨ  ආරාධිතයින්, තැරැව්කාර සමාගම් , ලැයිස්තුගත සමාගම් සහ  ශ්‍රී ලංකා ව්‍යපාරික ප්‍රජාවද සහාභාගී වූහ.  

චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතගේ 

අලි මිනිස් ගැටුමක් කලක පටන් නිර්මාණයවී ඇත. එහි ආරම්භය කවදාදැයි අපි නොදනිමු. නමුත් ඒ සටනින් මිනිසා ජයගෙන අලින් අල්ලා මෙල්ලකරගෙන උන්ගෙන් වැඩ ගන්නා තත්වයට පත්ව සිටියහ. එදා අලින් අල්ලා මෙල්ලකර උන්ගෙන් වැඩගත් සමාජය අද උන්ට දුටු තැන වෙඩි තබන තත්වයට පත්ව ඇත. ඒ වර්තමානයේදී පවතින අලි මිනිස් ගැටුමේ ස්වරූපයයි.

මේ තත්වය වෙනස්කල යුතුය.අලියාට අලියෙක් ලෙසත් මිනිසාට මිනිසෙක් ලෙසත් නිදහස්ව ජීවත්වීමේ වටපිටාවක් නිර්මාණය කල යුතුය. ඒ සඳහා අලි ගම්වැදීම නතර කොට කැලාවට සීමාකොට තැබිය යුතුය, මේ සඳහා ගම හා කැලෑව අතර ඇති මායිම දෙපාර්ශවයම හඳුනාගෙන කටයුතු කිරීමේ ක්‍රියාවලියක් නිමානය කිරීමට කාලය එළඹ ඇත. මේ මායිමෙන් මෙහාට අලින්ගේ පැමිණීම නතර කිරීමේ ක්‍රියාවලිය තුලින් මෙය ස්ථිරවම නතර කල හැක.ගැටලුව වන්නේ මෙසේ කල හැකි ක්‍රියාවලිය කුමක්ද යන්නයි.

සෑම ගැටළුවකටම විසදුමක් ඇත. එබැවින් මේ ප්‍රශ්නයටද විසදුමක් තිබේ. මේ විසදුමේ ස්වරුපය තීරණය කරන්නේ,

1.මායිම ආසන්නයේ ඇති පාරිසරික තත්වය.
2.අලියාගේ කායික ශක්තිය.
3.අලියාගේ බුද්ධිය.
4.විසදුම ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන මිනිසුන්ගේ,මනස තුල පවතින අපේක්ෂාවන්ය.

පළමුව මේ ගැටලුව විසදීම සඳහා අනාදිමත් කාලයක සිට කල ක්‍රියාකාරකම් සඳහා ගිය අතිවිශාල ධනස්කන්දය, හා එම  කාර්යන් ව්‍යාවර්ත වීමට හේතුව අවබෝධ කරගත යුතුය.

A . අපට දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමෙන්තුවක් තිබේ. වාර්ෂිකව භාවිතාවට නුසුදුසු රේල්පීලි ඉන් ඉවත්කර දමන බවද අපි දන්නෙමු.මෙම රේල්පීලි ඉතාම ශක්තිමත්ය. දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට අනවශ්‍ය දෙයකි. මේවා මිලදී ගැනීමේ යාන්ත්‍රණයක් පළමුව ගොඩනගා ගත යුතුය.

B මෙම රේල් පිල්ලක සාමාන්‍ය දිග මීටර් 6කි. ආසන්න වශයෙන් අඩි 20කි. මෙම පිල්ලක් දෙකට කැපු විට අපිට අඩි 10 කොටස් දෙකක් ලැබේ. මෙම අඩි 10 සෑම කොටසකම එක කෙළවරක් කොන්ක්‍රීට් වලට බදා අල්ලා ගැනීම සඳහා යකඩ පාදමක් අවම තරමින් අඩි 3′-0” x 3′-0″ ප්‍රමාණයේ කොන්ක්‍රීට් පදනමකට උචිත සේ සකස් කරගත යුතුය.

C. දැන් අඩි  3′-0″ x 3′-0″x 4′-0″ ගැඹුරු වැලක් හදා එම නිර්මාණය කරගත් අඩි 10 රේල්පිල්ල එහි තැන්පත්කොට නිසි ලෙස සකස් කරගත්  1:2:4 (3/4″) කොන්ක්‍රීට් නිසි ප්‍රමිතියකින් යුතුව, යකඩ කිසිම ආකාරයකින් පොලොව හා ස්පර්ශ නොවනසේ, අඩියක ඝනකමට දමා ගත්විට පොළොවේ සිට අඩි 6ක් උස ශක්තිමත් රේල්පිල්ලක් නැගී සිටි.

D.මෙලෙස පිලි අඩි 5-4 පරතරයට සිටවා ගත කල ඒ අතරින් අලියෙකුට රිංගා ඒමට නොහැක.

E. ගම හා කැලාවේ මායිම කිලෝ මීටරයක ප්‍රමාණය සඳහා ආවරණය කරන්නට නම්,

     1. පස් කැපීම කියුබ් 234 කැපීමට සිදුවෙන අතර,
     2. මීටර් 6 රේල්පීලි 350ක් දෙකට කපා ගත යුතුවේ.
     3. 1: 2: 4: (3/4″) (grade 25 හෝ grade 30 වුවද කම් නැත.) කොන්ක්‍රීට් කියුබ් 60ක් අවශ්‍ය වේ.
     4. පාදමේ වැරගැන්වීම් සඳහා 2′-9″ x 2′-9″ 10mm කම්බි කුඩු 700ක්
     

මේවායේ වර්තමාන මිලගණන් ගත්විට පැහැදිලි වියදමේ ච්ත්රයක් නිර්මාණය වෙන අතර මෙයට ඇතුලත් කිරීමට ඇත්තේ ප්‍රවාහන වියදම් හා බිමේ පල හා පඳුරු ඉවත් කිරීමේ වියදම් පමණි.

මේ අනුව සම්පුර්ණ ඇස්තමේන්තුව වන්නේ, 1+2+3+4+ප්‍රවාහන වියදම් +භුමිය සකස් කිරීමේ වියදම් + මේ යන වියදම්වල් එකතුවේ 15%අගයයි.

මෙහි ඇති වාසිය වන්නේ අලියාට ගමට පැමිණීමට නොහැකි තත්වයක් නිර්මාණය වීමයි. නමුත් මිනිසුන්ගේ අවශ්‍යතා සඳහා  කැලා වැදීමට ඇති හැකියාවද මින් සුරකිනවා.

මීළඟට අප වටහා ගත යුත්තේ, අපිට අවශ්‍ය නම් මේ කණු එකිනෙකට බද්ධ කිරීමෙන් ඕනෑම අවස්තාවකදී මේ වැටේ ශක්තිය විශාල ප්‍රමාණයකින් වැඩිකරගත හැකි බවයි.

මීළඟට ගැටලුව ඇත්තේ මෙවැනි වැටක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට බාර දෙන්නේ කුමන වර්ගයේ, කොන්ත්‍රාත්කාරයෙකුටද යන්නයි.

මෙය ජාතික කර්තව්‍යක් බැවින්, මෙම කටයුත්ත ලංකාවේ ඇති ඉහල ප්‍රමිතියකින් යුත් (උදාහරණ ලෙස, ICC හෝ MAGA ) වැනිම වූ සමාගමකට හෝ යුද්ධ හමුදාවට බාරදිය යුතුයි මම යෝජනා කරමි.

මෙම යෝජිත කණු පෙර සවි අංගනයක සාදා ඒවා භූමියට ගෙනගොස් සැලසුමට අනුව ස්ථානගත කිරීමටද හැකියාවක් ඇත. එය තීරණය කරන්නේ, ස්ථානයට යාමට ඇති හැකියාවයි.

WATCH THE FULL TOWN HALL

BBC

Having watched Asian and European countries struggle against Covid-19, the US was slow to ramp up testing and order its residents to stay at home. We look at this crucial time period and what exactly was done to prevent the outbreak.

Produced by the BBC’s Franz Strasser, narrated by Hannah Long-Higgins

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-52622037

By Dr. Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

During the lockdown in Sri Lanka, the rich and the poor alike got their daily bread from the humble itinerant “choon paan” man

Street vendors and hawkers are ubiquitous part of everyday business. The secret of their survival even under stressful conditions is that they are very adaptable to changing conditions. And they have been around for a long, long time, from the era of the ‘The Jataka’ and ‘The Panchatantra’. They are also part of the modern popular culture, being shown in cartoons, animation movies and advertisements. And they are seen all over South Asia.

Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali poem- ‘Bichitra Sadh’ (Vocation), is about the wish of a child to be a street vendor when he grows up. In Sri Lanka street hawkers are on by-cycles or auto-rickshaws tuk-tuks- peddling Lamprais, a Dutch-Lankan dish which is a mix of steamed rice, served with a curry of fish or chicken, along with other curries made with vegetables, lentils, or fruits and a spoonful of pickled fruits or vegetables, chutneys, and sambol. Other popular street vendor are those who sell Bombai Muttai, fluffy coloured candy, a candy floss as it were. Still more interesting are the ‘choon paan’ trucks- plying in the early mornings and evenings. These are the famous bread-trucks and bun combo known as choon paan” loosely translates to music bread” in Sinhala. These are driven by men, who would play a song on a CD player, blaring out of a loudspeaker. This was their unique method of advertising and this was their method of letting the neighbourhood know about their arrival.

Interestingly enough, a closer look at the methods of selling also reveals distinct traits. While the streets of Colombo had the bakers selling their products, using a CD player with a Hindi film number or more interestingly, Fur Elise the bakers at other remote regions would often have a different repertoire, where Fuer Elise would be supplemented with the traditional, mellifluous tune from a flute. I remember listening to one such ‘choon pan’ man and his arrival in the early hours of mornings and evenings during my stay at the Guest house of Eastern University in Batticaloa.

The ‘choon paan’ man and his products were in news once again recently, during the present pandemic lockdown in the country of Sri Lanka. After being marked by the government as ‘essential business’- these bakery trucks continued to ply. In fact, they also witnessed a rise in their otherwise diminishing sales. This was further confirmed by a report in BBC (June 11, 2020) and a report by Maljini Ranaraja (July 8, 2020, Asia Foundation).

Just like most street vendors, the ‘choon paan’ men and their products are not new to adaptability. One popular story about their favourite music- Fuer Elise by Beethoven on their regular hawking routes speak of particularly points to this fact. This local story goes back to the early 2000, when the plying of tuk-tuks as well as the use of cell phones became common across the country, including villages. A particular favourite ringtone that probably rang throughout the country was that of Beethoven’s Fuer Elise on all cell phones. The ‘choon paan’ men started to play this tune over a horn speaker to let residents know about their arrival and thus, Fuer Elise came to signify the arrival of fresh-baked bread, twice a day. In recent years however, Beethoven has joined hands with Hindi film music, while in specific spaces in the interior, one can still hear traditional music.

Peddlers and street hawkers have always been an important part of the local and regional economy of South Asia. With the present global pandemic situation, the ensuing lockdowns across the world and its effects on the economy, many of the smaller industries are facing hardships. The street hawkers are among them. While many new hawkers take to the streets, the previous ones are still far from finding a solution. Noted journalist, Sikha Mukherjee, in her piece, dated April 23, 2020 in the online portal The Wire mentions the beginning of the doom for the street hawkers as a result of the cyclical effects of the lockdown. Mukherjee speaks about The National Federation of Hawkers, which says that 40 million people are engaged in the business of selling on the streets, in the metros, in small towns, in rural hubs across India. Nearly 800,000 vendors also started to face trouble as trains stopped plying at the beginning of the lockdown in India in March, 2020. Certain recovery measures were taken as well, including the one by SAAG (South Asian Association for Gastronomy).

A report by Mrityunjay Bose (Deccan Herald, July 14, 2020) mentioned SAAG’s attempts to draft a charter for initial financial help to street food vendors. SAAG is also a think tank drawn from across South Asia and has an annual platform called ‘The Food For Thought Fest’. This is the only platform in India that looks into food across South Asia and is a collective of hospitality industry professionals, food scholars and policy influencers from South Asian nations, who believe in promoting a common platform for regional unity and diversity.

With changing and challenging circumstances in the present times, it is indeed painful to see these varied attempts at survival and continuity.

BY ASHMAN ADAM Courtesy Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed a taxi driver’s legal bid to delist the now defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist group in the country.

Malaysiakini reported Justice Mariana Yahya issuing the ruling over V. Balamurugan’s judicial review application during proceedings this morning.

Mariana had also ruled that Balamurugan had already been discharged and acquitted of an LTTE-linked court case, therefore the applicant no longer has the right or capacity to proceed with the judicial review.

It was reported that the court had set today for a decision on Balamurugan’s judicial review, which listed the Home Minister and the government as respondents. 

The judicial review was dismissed, with no order to cost,” the applicant’s lawyer Omar Kutty was quoted as saying.

The judge ruled that there had been a delay in the filing of the judicial review application because any such filing should have been made within three months of the gazette in 2014.”

On whether an appeal would be lodged over today’s High Court ruling, Omar reportedly said they would first seek the full grounds of the decision, analyse it, and then decide whether to do so.

On January 8 this year, Balamurugan filed the leave application to initiate a judicial review to declare that the LTTE details in the gazette were null and void and that the listing of LTTE as a terrorist group was unlawful, among others.

Balamurugan was among 12 individuals who were detained late last year and charged over alleged support of LTTE, among others.

However on February 21 this year, then attorney general Tommy Thomas discontinued the terrorism charges against the 12 individuals.

It was reported on February 24 that after being discharged and acquitted of the LTTE-linked charges, Balamurugan chose to continue with his legal challenge to delist the LTTE as a militant group.

In the same month, then home minister and now prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said LTTE is still a terrorist organisation in the Home Ministry’s books.

Courtesy Adaderana

The person alleged to be the fugitive gangster Maddumage Lasantha Chandana Perera alias ‘Angoda Lokka’ had died of heart attack in Coimbatore and no foul play was involved in his death, a senior officer of India’s CB-CID said on Wednesday based on the findings of the post-mortem, chemical examination and histopathology reports.

K. Shankar, Inspector General of Police, CB-CID, told The Hindu the three reports did not have any finding related to unnatural death. There was no finding of poisoning or other suspected aspects in the reports,” he said.

As per the initial statement given by a Sri Lankan woman named Amani Thanji, who lived with the person believed to be ‘Angoda Lokka’ in a rented house at Balaji Nagar near Cheran Ma Nagar in Coimbatore, he suffered chest pain on the night of July 03 and was declared dead by doctors of a private hospital where she took him with the help of two neighbours. The body was later shifted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

Reportedly, ‘Angoda Lokka’ lived in Coimbatore under the assumed identity of Pradeep Sigh for around two years. He possessed an Aadhaar card in the name of Pradeep Singh which he managed to obtain with the help of two persons D. Sivakamasundari, an advocate of Madurai, and her friend S. Dyaneswaran from Erode.

Sivakamasundari, Dyaneswaran and Thanji had taken Angoda Lokka’s body to Madurai after post-mortem at CMCH on July 5 and cremated it there.

The Coimbatore City Police later found that the Aadhaar card, a copy of which was produced by Sivakamasundari at the Peelamedu police station, was obtained using forged documents. The police arrested the three persons on August 2.

The CB-CID later took over the case and registered two separate cases – one related to the death of Lokka and the other against the three on various charges, including furnishing false documents, harbouring offender, criminal conspiracy and forgery of records.

With suspected foul play in the death of the person alleged by Indian authorities to be ‘Angoda Lokka’ ruled out, CB-CID will now concentrate on the second case, added Mr. Shankar.

CB-CID investigation had also found that the ‘Angoda Lokka’had a pistol which the accused handed over to a Sri Lankan national in Madurai after his death. Efforts to trace the man are under way.

However, Sri Lankan authorities have not yet confirmed that the deceased person in question is in fact the Sri Lankan don hiding in India, ‘Angoda Lokka’.

Source: The Hindu

Courtesy Adaderana

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks warned MP Harin Fernando over the impulsive behavior displayed during his testimony at the commission.

The former Sports Minster appeared before the Commission yesterday (16), to testify regarding the statement he made to the media that his father had pre-warned him of the Easter attacks.

Testifying at the Commission, Fernando said that his sister had called him when the first series of attacks happened on Easter Sunday last year, and told him that they were planning to go to the church and the Kingsbury hotel, yet, their father had asked them not to, on the previous night.

Fernando said, after relaying this information to then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, he visited his father who was receiving medical care at an Intensive Care Unit in Colombo to ask how he knew about the attacks. However, his father only replied to him with ‘I know a lot more than you’, said Fernando.

Witness Harin Fernando said that he suspects that an official of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) may have warned his father of the attacks.

The Senior State Counsel, then making submissions at the Commission, stated that it has been revealed that Harin Fernando’s father had engaged in a 356-second long phone conversation with Sergeant Nandalal, attached to the CID, on the day before last year’s Easter Sunday.

The Senior State Counsel further pointed out that this is the same Sergeant Nandalal who was a part of the CID team that visited Pasikudah to arrest Zahran Hashim’s team member ‘Army Mohideen’ and to recover the explosives in Wanathawilluwa. He is also the person whose photograph was found among the contacts in the phone of the said ‘Army Mohideen’, the State Counsel added.

Speaking further, Witness Fernando told the Commission that his father had never directly warned him against going to churches and that he had only revealed to the media what his sister had told him.

Fernando alleged that, his statement –”My father is currently in the hospital. He called me last night asking me not to visit a church saying he had a tip-off. There is intelligence information. My father told me not to go to Kochchikade Church.” –, made to the media, was misused by the media to slander him politically.

The Appeal Court Judge on the Commission then questioned the MP whether the media had published anything he did not say, to which the MP replied in the negative.

However, the MP added that he had held a 45-minute press conference but the media had only used the part where he tells his father warned him of the attacks.

The Commission member then told Fernando that even if he held a 45-minute press conference, the media can only use the ‘hottest minute’ to broadcast.

Parliamentarian also said that he was greatly inconvenienced by the Cardinal’s statement ‘Our people died, Minister’s son survived’.

He further said that he does not believe that the church was not aware of the attacks in a context where many parties were pre-warned of it.

Fernando went on to say that a special investigation must be carried out to determine whether the Cardinal was aware of the attacks, because he did not hold a morning service on last year’s Easter Sunday, when the leader of the Catholic Church Council traditionally holds a morning mass on every Easter Sunday.

The President’s Counsel representing the Cardinal inquired the MP Fernando whether if he would accept it if he says that the Cardinal, as usual, conducted the midnight service at the St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena on April 20th last year, stating that the Archbishop holds the Easter service every year at midnight on the Saturday before Easter Sunday.

To which Fernando said that he was unaware of this and admitted that the above statement was made without any evidence and just because it came to his mind.

Thereafter, the President’s Counsel inquired Fernando about a nephew of the MP who is currently studying at a Catholic private school in Colombo.

He informed the Commission that the nephew in question is member of the school’s rugby team and that the team had made plans to practice at the Sugathadasa Stadium and visit the Kochchikade St. Anthony’s Church afterwards on Easter Sunday last year.

However, the President’s Counsel pointed out that, the MP’s nephew was the only person who did not attend practices that day.

MP Harin Fernando aggressively objected to President’s Counsel Shamil Perera regarding the question.

The Commission then sternly warned the MP on his impulsive behavior and stated that if he, as a witness at the Commission, treats a lawyer with disrespect, it is considered as an act of disrespect towards the Commission as well.

Courtesy Adaderana

The 156th birth anniversary commemoration of Anagarika Dharmapala was held under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Mahabodhi Agrashravaka Maha Vihara in Maligakanda today (17).

President was received by the Chairman of Mahabodhi Society and Chief Sanghanayaka of Japan Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thero at the venue.

After paying floral tribute to the memorial of Anagarika Dharmapala, President Rajapaksa planted a sapling of Rath Handun to mark the launch of Suwa Dharani”, the traditional medicine preservation project by the Ministry of Promotion of Indigenous Medicine.

President who engaged in religious observances at Dathu Mandira at Agrashravaka Vihara paid floral tribute before the Dharmapala statue inside the main hall.

Addressing the gathering Ven. Upatissa Thero said President Rajapaksa who leads the country along a nationally recognized thinking is the only leader, he saw, to follow the path of Anagarika Dharmapala.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Prof. W. D. Lakshman presented the Dharmapala Commemorative Coin of Rs. 500 denomination to the President.

Mr. Sudhammika Hewawitharana, a relative of Srimath Anagarika Dharmapala presented a souvenir with the image of Anagarika Dharmapala to the President.

President Rajapaksa presented mementos to Bodhi Chiththa Bhikkhuni, the Head of the Vietnamese delegation and to Mr. Dilshan Jayasuriya, Secretary of the Mahabodhi Society, now in Sri Lanka to attend the Anniversary celebrations.

The President launched the Relax TV channel on Peo TV 113 which will go on air under the guidance of the Board Member of the Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Society and the Chief Incumbent of the Agrasrawaka Maha Viharaya, Ven. Monaragala Pannalankara Thero.

Ven. Upatissa Thero handed over 10 locally manufactured bicycles, donated by Managing Director of the Raleigh Bicycle Company Mr. J. Perumal to the Mahabodhi Society, to the President.

The Maha Sangha including Most Venerable Ittapane Dhammalankara Thero, Ministers Dinesh Gunawardena, G. L. Peiris, State Ministers Nalaka Godahewa, Sisira Jayakody and UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardena were also present at the occasion.

-PMD

Courtesy Adaderana

The World Bank Group’s 2020 Human Capital Index, released today, finds that a child born in Sri Lanka today will be 60 percent as productive when she grows up as compared to if she enjoyed complete education and full health. This is higher than the average for South Asia region and lower middle-income countries.

Investments in human capital—the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives—are key to unlocking a child’s potential and to improving economic growth in every country.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, investing in people is more vital than ever, as it can lay the strong foundations needed for the recovery and for resilient growth,” said Faris H. Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. 

Stunting due to chronic under-nutrition and the need for higher quality learning are the two areas of the Human Capital Index in which Sri Lanka has an opportunity to accelerate progress, especially as a country on the threshold of upper-middle income status.”

To help address these gaps, a strategic focus on improving nutrition and enhancing learning in less developed regions of the country is needed, along with consistent measurement of stunting and internationally comparable learning outcomes to inform policy development and track progress in human capital development over time.

Globally, due to the pandemic’s impact, most children – more than 1 billion – have been out of school and could lose, on average, half a year of schooling, translating into considerable monetary losses in the future. Data also shows significant disruptions to essential health services for women and children, with many children missing out on crucial vaccinations. The economic impact of the pandemic has been particularly deep for women and for the most disadvantaged families, leaving many vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty.

The 2020 Human Capital Index includes health and education data up to March 2020 for 174 countries covering 98 percent of the world’s population, providing a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education status of children.

The analysis finds that human capital outcomes for girls are on average higher than for boys. However, this has not translated into comparable opportunities to use human capital in the labor market. On average, employment rates are 40 percentage points lower for women than for men in South Asia. Moreover, the pandemic could exacerbate risks of gender-based violence, child marriage and adolescent pregnancy, all of which further reduce opportunities for learning and empowerment for women and girls.

Sri Lanka and the World Bank have worked together for decades to invest in human capital and today these hard-won gains are at risk,” said Chiyo Kanda, Country Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives. 

We will continue supporting Sri Lanka to expand the coverage and quality of health services in underserved areas, boost early childhood development and learning outcomes, improve higher education, and support vulnerable families with social protection measures to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The World Bank Group is working closely with governments all over the world to develop long-term solutions to protect and invest in people during and after the pandemic. In Sri Lanka the Bank is supporting initiatives to increase access to early childhood education and care, to improve learning in general education, and to strengthen the relevance of higher education for economic development. The Bank is also helping strengthen the efficiency of social safety nets to support vulnerable families and households. In addition, the Bank is assisting the government to strengthen health systems, including to respond to the challenges of the Covid19 pandemic.

Source: World Bank

Courtesy Hiru News

05 suspects including a lawyer arrested by CID for forging documents to claim a property of one Easter Sunday suicide bomber, remanded until September 28

Courtesy Hiru News

The captain of the M.T. New Diamond ship was issued a notice to appear before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on the 28th.

This was when the CID made submissions before Colombo Additional Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage.

The Attorney General had instructed the CID to name the captain of the ship as a suspect and produce him before a Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Accordingly, the Attorney General’s Department presented information in this regard in court today.

Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris stated that the captain of the ship had not made any formal attempt to extinguish the fire.

The 60-year-old captain had joined the ship on August 20.

Investigations have revealed that the ship caught fire on September 03 and no proper communication process was initiated.

Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris told the court that the captain and his crew had not assisted the CID in its investigations.

Courtesy Hiru News

One arrival from Qatar, one from UAE &amp; one from Madagascar tested positive for Covid-19 raising the total in Sri Lanka to 3,274.

N.A.de S. Amaratunga

The 19^th A is being replaced by the 20^th A and a new constitution is being planned.  A Committee has been appointed for the drafting of a new constitution comprising some of the leading intellectuals in the country. That would be the fourth new constitution for the country since independence. And there had been 19 amendments too. It is interesting to ponder why the country could not draft a constitution that could last at least 25 years without radical changes. Almost all the amendments had been radical. 13^th A had introduced some almost federal features. 16^th A had precluded Sinhala Language being used in the courts in the North and East provinces. 1978 constitution brought in a hybrid system with a mixture of  parliamentary and presidential arrangements. 19^th A was full of contradiction and confusion lacking in clarity in the most important aspects. 20^th A seems to be a total rejection of the 19^th A.

This is not to say a constitution should be rigid, some flexibility is required to bring about change when and if necessary. But these changes need not be radical which would be the case if the constitution has been well constructed.

This lack of lasting quality and a degree of permanency and a semblance of consistency in constitution making in Sri Lanka is a reflection of the complexity of the issues that need to be addressed. Some of these complexities are due to the nature of our state and its inhabitants while some are created by the politics within as well as without. It is prudent to take into consideration these several factors when thinking about constitution reforms.

Now that the people has given the new government a 2/3^rd majority it is up to the government to construct a good constitution once and for all which could take the country to peace and prosperity with secure sovereignty and territorial integrity. It must be said that even a 2/3^rd majority victory is possible even in a full PR system when the people are desperate for a change including an overhaul of the constitution. The government must respond to this phenomenon with sufficient seriousness it deserves and not treat it frivolously as all governments do with regard to people’s will. People’s burning problems must be addressed with commitment and vigour and constitutional reforms is one such issue that needs to be undertaken with people’s interest at heart and not political expedience.

Leave History aside

History of the country and its civilization have not been clearly understood and is being very often misinterpreted for political expedience. Extremists of both sides of the divide make claims and counter claims about original inhabitants, superiority of language, religion and race, homeland concepts, historical kingdoms etc. They do not, in the process, hesitate to distort history. Recently a leading politico from the North after taking a vow at the LTTE memorial, to fight for Tamil aspirations, claimed in the parliament that Tamil language had been in use in Sri Lanka before the Sinhalese language. His argument is based on the fact that Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world. He did not explain why there is no epigraph or archaeological evidence that Tamil had been in use in this land prior to Sinhalese.  Similarity between  Tamil spoken in the North of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu is greater than the similarity between Tamil spoken in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu proving that Tamil in the North of Sri Lanka had not been evolving independently for a long period of time but had been imported from Tamil Nadu comparatively recently.

Let us leave history aside for we will not get anywhere by hanging on to dubious theories. Tamils as a minority in the country must have their rights fulfilled irrespective of whether they were the original inhabitants or arrived here in the 12^th Century as Karthigesu Indrapala concluded in his research. So must Muslims who were settled in the East in the 17^th Century by the Kandyan Kings and any other minorities for that matter. Their rights regarding language, religion, education, employment, culture must be guaranteed in the constitution and all necessary institutions and space for that purpose must be made available. They must be treated as equal citizens in every respect and constitutional provision made for that purpose.

Language

Language is a defining feature of a people, their civilization and their identity and therefore needs to be given its rightful place in the constitution that pertains to those people. Sinhalese is the language that the people of Sri Lanka developed as part of their civilization on this land. Epigraph and archaeological evidence show how Sinhala developed on this land. Other languages spoken and  in use in Sri Lanka were imported from abroad. At present it is the mother tongue of more than 70% of the people in Sri Lanka. A nation must have a language unique to it and which facilitates its cultural development. It must contribute to the development of national pride and patriotism which are vital for the independence, sovereignty and economic development of a country. Therefore Sinhalese must be made the National Language of Sri Lanka and this must be stated in the constitution in clear terms. 

Tamil is spoken by about 20% of the people though it is a language that did not develop in the country. Tamil speaking people are fairly well distributed in the country and their contribution to the economy and culture are substantial. They need a language to communicate with the government and do their business. Their language must receive state assistance for its development. Therefore Tamil must be made an official language.

English is the lingua franca of the world and our dependent economy must have the support of a world language. Further English could be the link language among the different communities. English too could be an official language in Sri Lanka. 

Religion

Secularism may be suitable and necessary for some countries but not for Sri Lanka. Buddhism has been its lifeblood from early times and has been the font of its civilization. Buddhism has been the heart and soul of its people and the rallying point at times of peril.  The King, Sanga and the People comprised the ancient  governing system in Sri Lanka. At present more than 70% of its people believe in Buddhism. Theravada which is doctrinally the closest to Buddha’s original preaching has been preserved in Sri Lanka due to the state patronage it  received through out history. Buddhism is protected by the people and people in turn are protected by Buddhism. For these reasons Buddhism must be made the State Religion. All other religions must be given their due place, freedom and space for their practice and development 

State

Sri Lanka has always been a unitary state in its 2500 year long history. Political power was centralized and when ever there was a threat to that power domain people and the Sanga rallied to protect it. There may have been provincial  rulers but they came under the rule of the central Kingship. The so called  Jaffna Kingdom in the North was nothing but a manifestation of foreign occupation by South Indian invaders.

Since those times of unitary rule nothing has happened that could necessitate a change in the unitary nature of the State of Sri Lanka. The war waged by terrorists was a construct of local separatists and regional and global hegemonic powers. The political power that Tamils demand cannot be granted at the regional level without jeopardizing the single sovereignty and rights of other communities but could be done at the centre via a power sharing mechanism within a unitary state. Decentralization of administration could be achieved more efficiently at district level.

13^th Amendment and Provincial Councils

Sri Lanka is too small to be divided into nine political and administrative areas  Each area becomes too small for optimum utilization of resources for

economic development and too expensive and unnecessary burden on the poor people even under best of conditions. Such a division along ethnic boundaries is not possible as a large majority of the ethnic minorities are distributed widely in the country. Neither is it desirable for it would strengthen the ethnic consciousness and centrifugal forces instead of facilitating reconciliation and peace among different communities. Peace cannot be achieved by treating the majority community unfairly with regard to their right for sovereignty over the whole island. 

Several Provinces have existed without their Councils with no breakdown of essential services to the people for more than two years due to elections not being held. Though it is argued that not holding elections on time is a denial of democratic rights not holding elections for redundant institutions which in fact are a white elephant and a burden on the tax paying poor people could be considered a blessing in disguise. PCs were created as a solution to the so called ethnic Tamil problem but the silence of Tamil politicians on the issue of delay in elections to the Northern PC is deafening to say the least.

If they can do without their PC there cannot be an ethnic problem of enormous magnitude which necessitated a protracted war of 30 years and the introduction by force of the 13th A by India. People of this country did not ask for the 13th A, it was forced on us by a hegemonic imperialist India partly to pacify Tamil Nadu politicians, and to prevent other interested global powers getting into the fray for geopolitical reasons. Our poor people have to pay for global geopolitical vagaries and local communal dubious ‘aspirations’.

Moreover 13^th A has clauses which when fully implemented assume federal proportions eg police and land powers. Also the danger of a North and East merger and finally a total separation is ever present when the 13^th A is in the statute.  Sri Lanka and its people specially the Tamils could do well without the burden and the potential danger of the 13^th A and PCs.

Electoral System

The electoral system is another vital matter that has been repeatedly changed and tampered with for political needs. As a result twice the number of members than what was intended, including the defeated, got into local government bodies at the last elections. An electoral system that ensures the election of a stable government and which reflects the will of the people is required. A ‘first past the post’ system would serve this purpose. Minority representation could be accommodated with a PR system electing a suitable proportion of members. In this regard Dinesh Gunawardena Committee recommendations could be adopted 

Presidential powers and Independent Commissions

Democracy is enhanced with the separation of power into the three arms of governance; the executive, the legislature and the judiciary but if there is concentration of power in any one of these institutions the purpose is defeated. On the other hand the president should not be bereft of power he needs to perform the duties of the executive that the people by their vote had wanted him to be. An executive president has to be the head of the state, head of the government and head of the cabinet and he also must have control over the forces and the  defense portfolio under him.

Independent commissions aim at reducing the concentration of power but if they are to serve the purpose they have to be truly independent which was not the case when ‘yahapalana’ was in office. This was mainly because the opposition comprising the TNA and JVP colluded with the government in appointing these commissions. This may not happen with the present government.

Anyway the independent commissions have to be appointed by the people’s representatives ie the president and the parliament. However there is no harm having in the Constitution Council religious leaders, one from each major religion practiced in Sri Lanka nominated by a recognized religious body. This would further depoliticize the committees and make them more independent. The independent commissions must have sufficient number of members and a quorum for meetings and a system to arrive at decisions by vote rather than 100% consensus 

N.A.de S. Amaratunga

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Why did the two JVP uprisings happen precisely in 1971 and 1987, asked Nira Wickremasinghe. The answer is that they were both linked to the Eelam war.

Rohan Gunaratna observed that JVP insurgency and the Eelam Wars both started around the same time.  The first JVP insurgency started in the south in 1971 and violence in the  north started in 1972.   The second JVP insurgency   of 1987-89 ran parallel to Eelam War 2.

The timing of the second JVP insurrection was significant.  1987 was the year of the Vadamarachchi campaign in Jaffna. This campaign, set for May and June, was certain to succeed, but it was called off by President JR Jayawardena. 1987 was also the year when JVP started its  second insurgency in the south.  The 1987-1989 JVP insurgencies forced the army to fight on two fronts, up in the north against the LTTE and down in the south against JVP. This, it was hoped, would enable the far weaker LTTE win the Eelam war.

In  April 1987, JVP attacked Pallekelle Army camp  and took away a quantity of automatic weapons. In June 1987 JVP  attacked Katunayake Air Force base and Kotelawala Defence Academy (KDA) and removed a valuable haul of weapons from each. From KDA  they got eleven T56 and 15 submachine guns.

 In 1988, JVP attacked Katunayake air force base  a  second time and took away weapons and ammunition.  In  the same year,  JVP also attacked Pannala National Air Force training camp and  the army training camp at Kumbukke in Horana . There was also an unsuccessful attack on Panagoda army camp.

Analysts  have shown connections between JVP and LTTE . JVP was the Sinhala twin of the LTTE said Rohan Gunaratna. Gamini Samaranayake said his thesis consisted of a comparison between JVP and LTTE. The JVP insurrection of the 1987-1989 period should also be investigated, not only the Eelam war, said Nalin de Silva.

PLOTE and the LTTE were reported to have sold weapons to the JVP.  The intention was to create a second front against the Sri Lankan armed forces.  EPRLF had provided training for JVP‘s Vikalpa Kandayama in north east Sri Lanka and in   India. Gunaratna was told that they had received the training first and joined JVP after.

An explosive expert from PLOTE had given JVP training in improvised land mines in the jungles between Matale and Batticaloa, reported Chandraprema.  JVP   exploded its first experimental land mine in Kumbiyangoda in Matale.  The first landmine of JVP was the work of a PLOTE operator, said Gunaratna. A Tamil instructor had been present, said Chandraprema.  In 1989 PLOTE was seen in Akuressa training JVP of the Matara district in land mines. JVP  carried out a series of land mine attacks.  Landmines in Weerawila and Hungama killed six policemen.

There may have been  a transfer of explosion technology between the LTTE and JVP, as well, said A.J. Behra.  JVP had used powerful land mines similar to those used in the north by the LITE. Intelligence reports had indicated that JVP was receiving regular supplies of explosives from overseas, he added.

In the early 1970s JVP gave the impression that they were champions of the Sinhala race. This would have been done to capture Sinhala youth for the movement. After 1977 JVP changed its stance. JVP discarded its pro Sinhala attitude. JVP recognized the right of Tamil people for self determination and by 1980 they were supporting the secession of Tamil areas.

During the Eelam wars, there was collusion between LTTE and JVP. No member of the JVP was ever harmed when the LTTE attacked Sinhalese. JVP had   established JVP  cells in the  Sinhala border villages  in the east, by the end of 1987, said Gunaratna. When LTTE swooped down on a Sinhala village they avoided going to the homes of JVP  activists in the village, said Chandraprema.

There were allegations  in 1987  that JVP was in collusion with LTTE  in Trincomalee . This appears to be correct,  said Chandraprema. There was an instance when an  armed JVP contingent had met an LTTE  contingent in the Trincomalee jungles and JVP warned the LTTE not to proceed as the army was in that area.

There was evidence to show that JVP was supporting the separatist Tamils, said Godahewa. There is evidence to show that the JVP was actively collaborating with the LTTE to chase the Sinhalese out, agreed Chandraprema.  

In December 1987, JVP had  entered Sinhala  settlements in Aluth oya where settlers were armed, threatened them and took away 20 shot guns.   Sinhala refugees  from Trincomalee ,escaping after an attack on their village, said they were absolutely certain that their attackers were Sinhala. One had shouted obscenities in perfect Sinhala which showed that he was Sinhala not Tamil.

In October 1987 JVP  attacked Kallar army camp in Trincomalee  and after a 20 minute gun battle,    took away a huge amount of weapons, including  six T56 and  three LMG spare barrels.  This was JVP ‘s largest haul of weapons.  JVP attacked  Kallar camp at the  height of the IPKF sponsored LTTE attacks on Sinhala peasants in Trincomalee

JVP, though armed never tried to defend the Sinhalese in the border villages.. If  JVP had the ability to successfully attack the Kallali army camp,  so why could they not defend the Sinhalese, asked Chandraprema. 

However, there is not a single confirmed account of a JVP attack on the LTTE or IPKF. JVP never killed a single Tamil or Indian soldier, said Chandraprema.   JVP instead, used their arms on the Security forces,  on the JVP’s  Sinhala opponents and on  ‘traitors’. JVP killed more Sinhalese than the LTTE.  ( Continued)

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග

විද්‍යාව ඉගැන්වූ දක්‍ෂ ගුරුවරු තිදෙනෙක් මුණ ගැසීමට සහ ඔවුන් ගෙන් ඉගෙනුම ලැබීමට මට භාග්‍ය ලැබුණි. පිළිවෙලින් ජී .ගෞතමදාස , පී.ඩී.ඩබ් ජයවර්ධන සහ කේ ආරියසිංහ යන මහතුන් මෙසේ නම් කල හැකිය. කේ. ආරියසිංහ මහතා අපට විද්‍යාව ඉගැන්වූයේ ප්‍රගති විද්‍යායතනයේය. එතුමාගෙන් ඉගෙනුම ලැබූ දහසක් වූ වෛද්‍යවරු ඉන්ජිනේරුවරු සහ විවිධ විශේසඥයෝ අද ලෝකය පුරා තම සේවය ප්‍රජාවට ලබා දෙති. 

කේ. ආරියසිංහ මහතා අපට දුන්නේ විද්‍යා දැණුම පමණක් නොවේ. විද්‍යාත්මක චින්තනයටද ආරියසිංහ මහතා අපව හුරු කලේය. එතුමාගේ පන්ති වලදී බොහෝ විට සිසුන්ට පත්‍රිකා ලැබුනු අතර එහි විවිධ ප්‍රශ්න තිබුනේය. මේ ප්‍රශ්න සාමාන්‍ය ජීවිතයේ අප මුහුණ දෙන ඒවාය. එම ප්‍රශ්න විද්‍යාත්මකව විශ්ලේෂණය කිරීමට එතුමා අපව යොමු කලේය. උදාහරණයක් ලෙස 1981 වැනි කාලයක එතුමා අපට දුන් ප්‍රශ්නයක් මට තවමත් මතකය. දිගු ගමනකින් පසුව මෝටර් ර්ථයක ටයරයක පීඩනය අඩුවේද ? වැඩිවේද ? මේ ප්‍රශ්නයට අප හතර අතේ කල්පනා කලෙමු. එවැනි ප්‍රශ්න මගින් එතුමා අපට  තර්කාණුකූල ලෙස සිතීමට  හුරු කලේය. මේ තර්කාණුකූල විද්‍යාත්මක චින්තනය විශ්ව විද්‍යාලීය ජීවිතයේදී පමණක් නොව සාමාන්‍ය ජීවිතයේදී අපට උපකාර විය. 

කේ. ආරියසිංහ මහතාට ද්වී භාෂා කුසළතාව තිබේ. එතුමාට සිංහලෙන් මෙන්ම ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් විද්‍යාව ඉගැන්වීමේ හැකියාවක් ඇත. අද කාලයේ එවැනි හැකියාවක් ඇත්තෝ සීමිතය. තවද කේ. ආරියසිංහ මහතා සිසු විනය පිලිබදවද සැලකිලිමත් විය. වෙනත් ටියුෂන් කාරයන් මෙන් පන්තියේ විනය උලංඝනය කිරීමට උඩ ගෙඩී දීම , දෙපිට කැපෙන කතා සිසුන්ට කීම වැනි දේ එතුමා නොකලේය. ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම අප පාසලටත් වඩා ප්‍රගති ආයතනයේදී හොඳින් හැසිරුනෙමු. 

සාමාන්‍ය පෙළ කාලයේ සිටම මට විද්‍යාත්මක ලිපි ලිවීමේ පුරුද්දක් තිබුණි. වරක් මගේ ලිපියක් කියවූ කේ. ආරියසිංහ මහතා මාව ලේක් හවුස් ආයතනයට රැගෙන ගොස් නවයුගය කර්තෘට හඳුන්වා දුන්නේය. එසේම ලේඛන කලාවට මට දිරි දුන්නේය. එතුමා ශ්‍රී ලංකා විද්‍යා ලේඛකයන් ගේ සංගමයේ සභාපති වූ අතර එම සංගමයට මාව බඳවා ගත්තේය. මේ වන විට බොහෝ පොතපත ලියා ඇති මා හට ලේඛන කලාවේ අයන්න ආයන්න ඉගැන්වූයේ කේ. ආරියසිංහ මහතා බව මා කෘතවේදීව කියමි. 

කේ. ආරියසිංහ මහතා සිසු සිසුවියන් පරම්පරා කීපයකට ඉගැන්නුවේය. එතුමා හුදු විද්‍යා ගුරුවරයෙකු නොවේ ; කේ. ආරියසිංහ යනු විරල ගනයේ වෘත්තාන්තකි. අධ්‍යාපන පහන් ටැඹකි. ඒ පහනින් ආලෝකය ලැබුවෝ බොහෝ දෙනෙකි. එම ආලෝකය තවමත් වර්තමාන ශිෂ්‍ය පරම්පරාවට ආලෝකය ලබා දෙයි. 

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

දේශීය හස්ත කර්මාන්තය වඩාත් ප්‍රචලිත කිරීමට නම් එම නිෂ්පාදන අලෙවි කිරීම මෙන්ම, රටක් ලෙස ඒවා පරිහරණය කළ යුතුව ඇතැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා අද 2020.09.16 දින පැවැසීය.

වේවැල්, පිත්තල, මැටි, ලී බඩු සහ ග්‍රාමීය කර්මාන්ත ප්‍රවර්ධන අමාත්‍යංශය, ජාතික ශිල්ප සභාව, එක්ව ශ්‍රී ලංකා ඉඩම් සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ සංස්ථාවේ සහයෝගයෙන් සංවිධානය කළ SHILPA THURSDAY විශේෂ හස්ත කර්මාන්ත  අලෙවි ප්‍රදර්ශනය  විවෘත කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවට එක් වෙමින් ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේය.

SHILPA THURSDAY අලෙවි ප්‍රදර්ශනය සෑම බ්‍රහස්පතින්දා දිනකම බත්තරමුල්ල, දියත උයන පරිශ්‍රයේදී පැවැත්වීමට නියමිතය.

ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා එහිදී කළ සම්පූර්ණ කතාව මෙසේය,

ජාතික ශිල්ප සභාව සංවිධානය කළ අත්කම් වෙළඳපොළ විවෘත කිරීමට අවස්ථාවක් ලැබීම පිළිබඳව සතුටු වෙනවා. අපි අපේ රජයන් යටතේ බලයට පත්වන සෑම අවස්ථාවකම දේශීයත්වයට මුල් තැන ලබා දුන්නා, යැයි  කියන එක මා අමුතුවෙන් කිව යුතු කාරණයක් නොවේ.

පසුගිය කාලයේ ආපස්සට ගිහිල්ල තිබුණු දේශීය කර්මාන්ත අපිට ආපසු ගොඩනගන්නට අවස්ථාවක් ලැබීම පිළිබඳව අපි සන්තෝෂ වෙනවා. ඒ වගේම රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා මේ පිළිබඳව දක්වන උනන්දුව ගැන අපි එතුමාට අපේ ස්තුතිය පුද කරනවා.

දේශීය හස්ත කර්මාන්තය වඩාත් ප්‍රචලිත කරන්න නම් අපි මේ නිෂ්පාදන අලෙවි කිරීම වගේම, අපි ඒවා පාවිච්චි කිරීම කළ යුතු වෙනවා. එහෙම නම්, ඒ සඳහා මෙවැනි වෙළදපොළවල් තිබීම තුළින් වඩාත් උනන්දුවක් දක්වන්ට හා මේවා ප්‍රචලිත වෙන්නට එය හේතුවක්.

අද විශේෂයෙන්ම ගමේ ශිල්පීන්ට තිබෙන විශාල ප්‍රශ්නය තමයි බැංකු ණයක් ගන්න එක. ඔවුන්ට තමන්ගේ කර්මාන්තය දියුණු කර ගැනීමට හෝ ඉදිරියට ගෙන යාමට මුදල් අවශ්‍යතාවය තිබෙනවා. ඔවුන්ට ණයක් ගැනීමේදී මීට වඩා ලිහිල් ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් අනුගමනය කළ යුතු යැයි මම  විශ්වාස කරනවා.

ඒ වගේම අද මහජන බැංකුවේ සභාපතිතුමා මෙතන ඉන්නවා. මෙවැනි ප්‍රදර්ශන තියෙන අවස්ථාවලදී ඔවුන්ගේ බැංකුවේ, ළඟම ශාඛාව හෝ එහෙම නැත්නම් තාවකාලික ශාඛාවක් මෙහි විවෘත කරලා මේ කලා ශිල්පීන්ට අවශ්‍ය වන මුදල් ප්‍රමාණය, එහෙම නැත්නම් ණය  සහනාධාරයක් ලබා ගැනීමට අවස්ථාව ලැබෙනවා නම් මෙම කලා ශිල්පීන්ට මීට වඩා එය ප්‍රයෝජනයක් වෙයි කියලා මම විශ්වාස කරනවා.

හැම බ්‍රහස්පතින්දාවකම මේ ස්ථානයේ මෙවැනි වෙළඳපොළක් විවෘත කිරීමට තීන්දු කිරීම පිළිබඳව මෙම අමාත්‍යංශයට මම සුබ  පතනවා, යැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා පැවසීය.

මෙහිදී, බංග්ලාදේශයේ රැකියාවල නිරත වන, ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයින්ගේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා මිත්‍රත්ව සංගමය විසින් කොවිඩ් අරමුදල සඳහා රුපියල් ලක්ෂ පහක මුදලක් පරිත්‍යාග කිරීම ද සිදු විය. එම සංගමයේ සභාපති  සම්පත් එරුගෙපොළ මහතා විසින් එම මුදල් ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමා වෙත භාර දුන්නේය.

මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා කර්මාන්ත අමාත්‍ය විමල් වීරවංශ, වේවැල්, පිත්තල, මැටි, ලී බඩු සහ ග්‍රාමීය කර්මාන්ත ප්‍රවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ප්‍රසන්න රණවීර, වේවැල්, පිත්තල, මැටි, ලී බඩු සහ ග්‍රාමීය කර්මාන්ත ප්‍රවර්ධන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් එම්.ඒ.බී.වී. බණ්ඩාරනායක, ජාතික ශිල්ප සභාවේ සභාපති සුදත් අබේසේකර, බංග්ලාදේශ තානාපති මොහොමඩ් අලි ඛාන්, මහජන බැංකුවේ සභාපති සුජීව රාපක්ෂ  ඇතුළු මහත්ම මහත්මීන් රැසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

නැගෙනහිර පළාතේ පවතින ගැටලු හා සංවර්ධන කටයුතු සම්බන්ධයෙන් මෙතෝදිස්ත සභාවේ පූජක පියතුමන්ලා හා රජයේ නිලධාරීන් පිරිසක්අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා සමඟ අද (2020.09.16) දින අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී සාකච්ඡාවක නිරත වූහ.

නැගෙනහිර පළාතේ තිරුක්කෝවිල්, කල්මුණේ, අම්පාර යනාදී ප්‍රදේශයන් හි පාසල්, නිවාස, රෝහල්, ගමනාගමනය, අධ්‍යාපන යන ක්ෂේත්‍රයන් හි පවතින ගැටළු සම්බන්ධයෙන් මෙහිදී සාකච්ඡා කෙරිණි.

අම්පාර නගර සංවර්ධනය, ඇඟළුම් හා වෙනත් කර්මාන්තශාලා සහිත කාර්මික පුරයක් ඇති කිරීම, පසුගිය කාලයේ නැවතී ඇති ගමනාන්ත දක්වා නව බස්රථ සේවාවන් ආරම්භ කිරීම, දේවස්ථාන නියාමනයක් සහිතව ගොඩනැගීම, කිතුණු ආගමික ගුරු පුරප්පාඩු පිරවීම හා දරුවන් කිතුනු පාසල්වලට ඇතුළත් කිරීමේදී ඇති වන ගැටලු සම්බන්ධයෙන් මෙහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් සාකච්ඡා විය.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් පැවති මෙම හමුවට පී.එස්.චමීර සිල්වා පියතුමා සහ  අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් ගාමිණි සෙනරත්, අතිරේක ලේකම්වරුන් වන චමින්ද කුලරත්න, ඇන්ටන් පෙරේරා, අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් මහාචාර්ය කපිල පෙරේරා, බුද්ධ ශාසන, ආගමික කටයුතු හා සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් මහාචාර්ය කපිල ගුණවර්ධන, ක්‍රිස්තියානි කටයුතු දෙපාර්තමේන්තු අධ්‍යක්ෂ චතුරි පිංතු, නැගෙනහිර පළාත් නියෝජ්‍ය ප්‍රධාන ලේකම් එච්. ඊ. එම්. ඩබ්ලිව්. ජී. දිසානායක, නැගෙනහිර පළාත් අධ්‍යාපන ලේකම් අයි. කේ. ජී. මුතුබණ්ඩා යන මහත්ම මහත්මීන් පිරිසක් එක්ව සිටියහ.

State Minister of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation

Dr. (Mrs.) Seetha Arambepola , State Minister of Skill Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovations stated that scientific research should be carried out identifying the issues encountered by the general public and aimed at resolving such issues The Hon. Minister expressed these views recently during an observation visit she paid to the Industrial Technology Institute at Malabe.  

She paid special attention to the ongoing research and value added products being developed by the institution, employing latest research technologies and inaugurated the construction of the final phase of the Herbal Products Laboratory being  developed under the China – Sri Lanka joint bio technology laboratory project, on the premises of the research complex.

 The Hon. Minister further expressing her views said

Scientists at our Institutions are tirelessly engaged in scientific research with much dedication. We have to find out the degree of contribution towards the upliftment of the living standards of the general public and strengthening the economy of the country. These research should provide sustainable solutions to the issues being encountered by the general public”

Therefore it is vital that efficient coordination between all research Institutions under the Ministry is established ensuring close links with mutual understanding. This makes it easy to find solutions for common issues through research. I intend to invite a programme to have a round table discussion with all research Institutions under the purview of the Ministry. The exchange of knowledge among institutions is vitally important. Sometimes, research of similar nature are carried out at various institutions. A research would commerce at a particular institution while a research of similar nature has continued up to a certain extent. Since this is a waste of time and money, it is my opinion that it is more productive if such research could be continued from the point another institution stopped it.”

The Hon. Minister gave instructions to officials to initiate necessary measures to utilize the knowledge gained form research to introduce new products to the public and also to transfer such technologies to several entrepreneurs targeting the creation of a network of industries.    

Dr. Sirimal Premakumara, Chairman of ITI, stated that since Sri Lanka is a country rich in valuable and rare herbs, the said laboratory will be made use of to produce herbal pills, capsules, syrups and various local medical compounds employing high end technologies to add value to these local herbs and that a grant of US dollars 600,000 has been received from the Chinese Government for the purpose of setting up of this laboratory.

Prabod Udugama

Media Secretary to the Hon. State Minister of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation.

නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, පර්යේෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය අංශය

ජනතාවට බලපාන ගැටළු හඳුනාගනිමින් ඒවාට විසඳුම් සෙවීමට විද්‍යාත්මක පර්යේෂණ සිදුකළ යුතු බව නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, පර්යේෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය ඇමතිනී සීතා  අරඹේපොල මහත්මිය පැවසුවා ය. අමාත්‍යවරිය මේ බව පැවසූවේ පසුගිය දින මාළඹේ කාර්මික තාක්ෂණ ආයතනයේ නිරීක්ෂණ චාරිකාවකට එක්වෙමිනි. මෙම නිරීක්ෂණ චාරිකාවේ දී එම ආයතනය තුළ සිදු කෙරෙන පර්යේෂණ කටයුතු හා  නව පර්යේෂණ දැනුම තුළින් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද අගය එකතු කළ නිෂ්පාදන අමාත්‍යතුමියගේ විශේෂ අවධානයට යොමු වූ අතර, පර්යේෂණ සංකීර්ණයේ ස්ථාපනය කෙරෙන චීන ශ්‍රී ලංකා ඒකාබද්ධ ජෛව තාක්ෂණ විද්‍යාගාර ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ, නිර්මාණය වන ශාකසාර ඹෟෂධ නිෂ්පාදන පර්යේණාගාරයේ අවසන් අදියරේ  ඉදිකිරීම් ආරම්භය ද අමාත්‍යතුමියගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් සිදුකෙරිණි.

මෙහි දී වැඩි දුරටත් අදහස් දැක් වූ අමාත්‍යවරිය මෙසේ ද පැවසුවාය.

අපේ පර්යේෂණ ආයතන වල විද්‍යාඥයින් මහත් පරිශ්‍රමයකින් විද්‍යාත්මක පර්යේෂණ කරනවා. එම පර්යේෂණ හරහා ගොඩනැගෙන දැනුම පොදු ජනතාවගේ ජීවන තත්වය ඔසවා තැබීමට කොතරම් බලපානවා ද, රටේ ආර්ථිකය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට ලබා දෙන දායකත්වය කොතරම් ද  යන්න විමසා බැලිය යුතුයි. මෙම පර්යේෂණ වල ඉලක්කය  විය යුත්තේ ජනතාවගේ ගැටළු වලට තිරසාර විසඳුම් ලබා දීමයි.”

   මේ සඳහා අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ ඇති සියලු පර්යේෂණ ආයතන හොඳ සම්බන්ධීකරණයක් අනන්‍යොන්‍ය අවබෝධයක් සහිතව එකට වැඩ කිරීම ඉතා වැදගත්. ඒ තුළින් පොදු ගැටළුවට පර්යේෂණ මගින් විසඳුම් සෙවීමට පහසු වෙනවා. අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ ඇති සියලු පර්යේෂණ ආයතන එක් මේසයකට කැඳවා සාකච්ඡා කිරීමට මම වැඩපිළිවෙළක් සකස් කරනවා. ආයතන අතර දැනුම හුවමාරු කිරීම ඉතා වැදගත්. ඇතැම් විට එකම ආකාරයේ පර්යේෂණ විවිධ ආයතන තුළ සිදු කෙරෙනවා. එක් ආයතනයක් තුළ යම් මට්ටමකට අවසන් කර ඇති ආකාරයේම  පර්යේෂණයක්, තවත් ආයතනයක් මුල සිට ආරම්භ කරනවා. එය කාලය සහ මුදල්  අපතේ යෑමක් බැවින්, යම් පර්යේෂණයක් එක් ආයතනයක් නැවතූ සන්ධිස්ථානයක සිට තවත් ආයතනයකට ආරම්භ කළ හැකි නම් එය ඵලදායී බවයි මගේ හැඟීම.” යනුවෙන් ප්‍රකාශ කළාය.

 පර්යේෂණ හරහා සොයා ගන්නා නව දැනුම තුළින් නිෂ්පාදනයක් බිහි කරන්නේ නම් ඒවා වාණිජකරණය කිරීමෙන් ජනතාව අතරට ගෙනයාමත්,  තාක්ෂණ පැවරුමක්  කරන්නේ  නම් ව්‍යවසායකයන් කිහිප දෙනෙකුට පැවරීමෙන් කර්මාන්ත ජාලයක් බිහි කිරීම වැදගත් බැවින් ඒ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය පියවර ගන්නා ලෙස ද අමාත්‍යවරිය නිලධාරීන්ට උපදෙස් දුන්නාය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඉතා වටිනා ඖෂධීය ශාක වලින් අනූන රටක් බැවින් එම වටිනා දේශීය ඖෂධීය ශාක වලට අධි තාක්ෂණය හරහා අගය එකතු කළ ශාකසාර පෙති, කරල්, සිරප් සහ විවිධ වූ  ඖෂධීය සංයෝග ඉදිරියේ දී මෙම පර්යේණාගාරය තුළ නිෂ්පාදනය කිරීමට නියමිත බවත් මෙම පර්යේෂණාගාරය වෙනුවෙන් චීන රජය මගින් ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් ලක්ෂ 6ක මුදල් ප්‍රතිපාදන හිමි වී තිබෙන බවත් කාර්මික තාක්ෂණ ආයතනයේ සභාපති, ආචාර්ය සිරිමල් ප්‍රේමකුමාර මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේ ය.

ප්‍රබෝද් උඩුගම

ගරු නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන, වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන, පර්යේෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යතුමියගේ

මාධ්‍ය ලේකම්.

සතුන් හා සොබාදහම සඳහා යුක්තිය සංවිධානය

සියලූ වෘත්තීයමය හා සිවිල් සංවිධාන වෙත,
පූජ්‍ය ස්වාමීන් වහන්ස, ගරු පූජකතුමනි,

මහතාණෙනි, මහත්මියනි,

ගව ඝාතනය නැවැත්වීමට රජයෙන් සම්මත කෙරුණු යෝජනාව බලගන්වමු.

මේ මස 8 දින ආණ්ඩුපක‍ෂ මන්තී්‍ර කණ්ඩායම විසින් මේ රටේ ගව ඝාතනය සපුරා නැවැත්වීම සඳහා ගන්නා ලද ඒකමතික
තීරණය සදාචාර ගරුක හා යුක්තිධමය අගයන සියලූ දෙනාගේ ම අමන්දානන්දයට හේතුවන්නක් බව අමුතුවෙන් කිවයුත්තක් නොවේ. අනගාරික ධමපාලතුමන්, අතිපූජ්‍ය මඩිහේ පඤ්ඤාසීහ මහනාහිමියන් ඇතුළු ගිහි පැවිදි උතුමන් විසින් දසක ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ සිදුකරන ලද මහා අරගලයෙහි ජයග්‍රාහී ප්‍රතිඵලය ඒකාන්තයෙන් ම ලැඛෙන බවට, ඉහත සඳහන් තීරණය සුභදායී පෙරනිමිත්තක් බව ද නිගමනය කළ හැකිය.

එතෙකුදු වුවත් ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමන් ප්‍රධාන ආණ්ඩුපක‍ෂයේ මන්තී්‍රවරුන් විසින් ගන්නා ලද එම ප්‍රශංසනීය තීරණය සෘජු ප්‍රතිපන්න ලෙසත්, අභීත ලෙසත් කි්‍රයාත්මක කරලීම සඳහා මහජනතාවගේ ආශීර්වාද පූවක සහයෝගය අත්‍යවශ්‍ය වන්නක් බව අමුතුවෙන් කිවයුතු නොවේ. මේ උතුම් අපේක‍ෂාව ඉටුකරගැනීම සඳහා ඔබ සංවිධානයේ ද පූණ අනුග්‍රහය පිරිනැමෙන බව අපගේ විශ්වාසය යි. එවන් සංවිධානයන්හි නියෝජිත හමුවක් කැඳවා අදාල ඉදිරි කටයුතු සාර්ථක ලෙස සංවිධානය කරගැනීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් තීරණ ගැනීමට අදහස් කෙළෙමු.

ඒ අනුව 2020 සැප්තැම්බර් 20 ඉරුදින පෙ.ව. 8.30 ට නාරාහේන්පිට ඇල්විටිගල මාවතේ අංක 566 සංඝ මූළස්ථානයේදී පැවැත්වෙන සාකච්ඡා සභාවට පැමිණ සහභාගි වන ලෙස මෙයින් කාරුණිකව ආරාධනා කරමු.

ඉදිරි කි්‍රයාමාර්ග පිළිබඳ නිගමන ගැනීමට පහසුවන අයුරින් ඔබ සංවිධානයේ වගකිවයුතු නියෝජිතයන් දෙදෙනෙකු මේ සඳහා සහභාගි කරවනු මැනවි. දුරබැහැර නිසා ඔබට සහභාගි වීමට හැකියාවක් නැතිනම් පහත සඳහන් අංක වලට සහ විද්‍යුත් ලිපිනයට අදහස් ලිඛිතව දන්වා එවන්න.

මෙයට,
ආචාර්ය පූජ්‍ය ඕමල්පේ සෝභිත හිමි
සභාපති
සතුන් හා සොබාදහම සඳහා යුක්තිය සංවිධානය
රකිත හේවාවිතාරණ
සභාපති
අනගාරික ධම_පාල හ`ඩ සංවිධානය
ආචාර්ය ඒ. ටී. ආරියරත්න
සර්වෝදය නිර්මාතෘ/සම්මානිත සභාපති
වෛද්‍ය ලංකා ජයසූරිය දිසානායක
සභාපති
ඉන්දිරා පිළිකා භාරය
විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍ය අනුරුද්ධ පාදෙනිය
සභාපති
රජයේ වෛද්‍ය නිළධාරීන්ගේ සංගමය
අයිරාංගනී ද සිල්වා
සභාපති
සත්ව සුභසාධන භාරය
සම්බන්ධීකරණය :
ිරේණුකා ඩී. නාගොඩවිතාන – 0714441810 ිනීතීඥ පාලිත සුභසිංහ – 0714278375
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ඊමේල් : වමිඑසජැ4්බ?ටප්සකගජදප
තැපැල් : zජස්ටිස් ෆෝ ඇනිමල්ස් ඇන්ඩ් නේචර්Z, 13 එA. ඕෂන් ටවර්, දුම්රියපල පාර, කොළඹ 4

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Training the trainers was a key aspect of the talks between the Indian envoy and the Lankan State Minister of Skills Development.

Colombo, September 16 (Indian High Commission): The High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay on Tuesday met the State Minister of Skills Development Dr. Seetha Arambepola, to discuss ways to deepen partnership between the two neighboring countries in areas such as capacity building and skill development.

Discussions were hinged on aspects such as training of trainers in vocational institutes in Sri Lanka, strengthening infrastructural capabilities of these institutes and generating interest among school-going children and youth in advanced space technologies.

It was decided that both sides would work towards early realization of augmenting existing capacities and creating newer ones in chosen fields in an expeditious manner.

Guided by ‘Neighborhood First’ Policy, the Government of India offers capacity building modules across a range of fields to Government Officials and other eligible Sri Lankan citizens every year. Under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, around 400 slots are reserved for Sri Lanka annually. Shortlisted personnel from Sri Lanka receive unique, fully-funded training programs under this rubric.

In addition, several other customized modules are also organized by the Government of India. It also provides scholarships to more than 200 Sri Lankan students each year to pursue courses spanning from under graduate to doctoral studies in various academic streams in prestigious institutes in India including IITs and NITs. To support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, financial assistance is provided to around 650 students from among Universities and Schools in Sri Lanka.

The Government of India is also committed to strengthening infrastructure in educational institutes in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, infrastructural activities in several institutes across the island are being undertaken as High Impact Community Development Projects.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

He was commenting on former MP M.K. Shivajilingam’s commemorating the 33 rd anniversary of the fast-unto-death undertaken by Thileepan, a member of LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s inner circle

Colombo, September 16 (newsin.asia): Dr.Rohan Gunaratna, an international expert on terrorism who is now Honorary Professor at the Sir John Kotelawala Defense University, Sri Lanka, has called for the arrest and trial of pro-LTTE Tamil leader and former MP, M.K.Shivajilingam and others who glorify terrorists.

They should be given the maximum punishment to deter others from following their destructive path,” he told newsin.asia on Wednesday.

Dr.Gunaratna was commenting on Shivajilingam’s arrest in Kondavil in Jaffna for defying a court injunction and commemorating Thileepan’s fast-unto-death against an alleged failure of the Indian and Sri Lankan governments to implement certain provisions of the India-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987.

Maximum punishment should be given as there is a public interest in this case. It will deter others funded by LTTE front organizations in the Tamil Diaspora from reviving the separatist agenda of the LTTE. Collective and decisive leadership is vital to restore stability and security, the foundation of ethnic and religious harmony in Sri Lanka,” Dr.Gunaratna argued.

The LTTE’s propaganda and paraphernalia should remain banned forever just as Germany banned Nazi symbols and activities after World War II, he suggested, pointing out that it is LTTE propaganda that fosters an environment for LTTE plots, plans and preparation aimed at revival.

Fast-Unto-Death

Thileepan had sat on a fast-unto-death on September 11, 1987, to secure a five-point charter of demands including the setting up of an LTTE-dominated Interim Administrative Council for the Tamil dominated Northern-Eastern province as part of the India-Sri Lanka Accord to resolve the ethnic issue.

With both Colombo and New Delhi going by the letter of the agreements already entered into, and refusing to accept the LTTE’s fresh demands, Thileepan refused to give up his fast and died after 11 days on September 26, 1987.

Shivajilingam, who is related to Prabhakaran, had sought permission to hold the commemoration ceremony of the fast-unto-death at the Thileepa memorial in Nallur, but the Jaffna police got a court order banning it on the grounds that a leader of a banned organization like the LTTE could not be commemorated and glorified.

The argument that the previous United National Party (UNP)-led government had allowed the commemoration, did not cut ice with the Jaffna magistrate, who acceded to the police request to ban it.

However, Shivajilingam secretly changed the venue of the commemoration to Kondavil and performed a ceremony there on Tuesday. He was arrested and was subsequently released by a court on bail.

How democracy is exploited

Commenting further on the incident, Dr.Gunaratna said: After the US declared victory in Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorism re-emerged because the terrorists’ support infrastructure remained intact. The tolerance of democracies revived violence.”

Therefore he recommended that the security and intelligence platform in Sri Lanka’s north and east should continue for one generation until the separatist ideology disappears.

Research demonstrates that if there is looseness (government neglect) as opposed to tightness (government vigilance), terrorist groups exploit the gaps and loopholes and come back. The groups and personalities that glorify terrorism should be identified and punished to deter future violence,” Dr.Gunaratna said.

Most terrorist groups abuse the freedom of expression to promote their vicious ideology to radicalize the youth into a culture of hate and violence, he added.

If a democracy permits display of terrorist paraphernalia and allows the dissemination of propaganda, the next step will be protests and demonstrations breaking out into violence. Like the Islamic State and al Qaeda, LTTE glorified death. If commemoration and celebration of death is permitted, it will lead to a culture of destruction.”

According to Dr.Gunaratna, there have been a dozen plots by the LTTE to revive since the end of Eelam War IV in May 2009. Most of the LTTE plots were supported by LTTE fronts overseas. The number of plots increased due to the delisting of LTTE fronts overseas by the Yahapalanaya government in 2015, he pointed out.

Relist the Delisted Entities

Dr.Gunaratna noted that the ideology of separatism is fading but there are a few trying to revive it. Most Tamils both in Sri Lanka and overseas have left the LTTE and its erstwhile proxy the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). However, a few racist politicians continue to promote the separatist agenda,” he said.

It is essential for the government to relist the delisted LTTE fronts overseas as some of them are operating in Sri Lanka, the expert stressed

Need for economic development

Dr.Gunaratna recommended that the Northern and Eastern provinces be economically developed and the Sri Lankan identity should be promoted.

The best strategy to counter racism is for Sri Lanka to develop a proper national education policy where Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims study together,” he said.

He warned that without regulating the ethnic and religious space, Sri Lanka can never have social harmony, political stability and economic prosperity.

(The featured image at the top shows Shivajilingam after he was released on bail by a Jaffna magistrate)

Courtesy Ceylon Today

Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi has appointed a five-member committee to look into the activities of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC).

The five-member committee comprises Specialist Dr. Hemantha Perera, former Dean of the Ragama Medical Faculty Professor Prishantha Wijesinghe, Specialist Dr. Anula Wijesundera, Specialist Dr. Maithree Chandraratne and Specialist Dr. Darshana Sirisena.

They have been advised to compile an independent report and present it to the Minister, with the latter looking to overhaul the SLMC shortly afterwards.

Speaking after appointing the committee, Wanniarachchi said, The SLMC is an independent body that has been formed through an Ordinance aimed at protecting the rights of the patients as well as rendering a quality service to the public. 

The SLMC is tasked with monitoring the quality of the service rendered by medical practitioners as well as their performance. 

As per the provisions contained in the Medical Ordinance, the final arbiter of all decisions taken by the SLMC is the subject Minister. I have received a spate of complaints concerning the SLMC’s conduct. One of the core issues had been regarding turning the SLMC into an independent institution and removing all obstacles placed in its path to provide a transparent service to the public. 

Among other issues raised regarding the SLMC recently had been the decision taken by this body to withdraw the registration of a few internationally recognised universities, the continued delay in electing officer bearers to the SLMC, the decision taken to register certain medical practitioners who had not even met the basic qualifications of the SLMC, the continuous delay in holding examinations to register students who had obtained overseas medical degrees, and the hearing of complaints within the SLMC while overriding its own laws and regulations.

Courtesy Ceylon Today

The present Government took three immediate steps to restore the economy which had been destroyed by the previous Government, and took steps to stabilize the rupee, reduce all taxes and reduce interest rates on bank loans, the Minister of State for Finance, Capital Markets and Public Enterprise Restructuring, Ajith Nivard Cabraal stated.

He stated this addressing the investors’ pavilion organized by Softlogic today (16).

The Minister further said that the present Government took these swift actions after coming to power in 2019, and despite the strong criticism in this regard, the results have proven to be successful.

According to Cabraal, the previous Government had projected revenue of Rs 2,200 billion (2.2 trillion) in 2019, but they could only get Rs 1,800 billion (1.8 trillion), even after raising all taxes and imposing burdens on the people.

The Minister said that by reducing taxes and interest rates, the Government would be able to generate additional revenue through the freedom of entrepreneurs to do business and the country’s economic growth could be achieved through this business growth.

State Minister Cabraal said that unless the economy recovers in a country where it has collapsed, tax revenue can never be expected to recover effectively, and the attractive tax rates they had hoped for could not be achieved due to the unnecessary tax burden imposed by the previous Government.

Courtesy MailonLiune

Sri Lanka will file negligence and pollution charges against the Greek skipper of an oil tanker that leaked fuel off the island nation’s coast after a week-long fire, authorities said Wednesday.

Some of the 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil aboard the New Diamond poured into the Indian Ocean, prompting a large effort to contain a slick that was roughly two kilometres (1.2 miles) in length.

Its 270,000-tonne cargo of crude oil was unaffected by the fire.

“There is sufficient evidence to prosecute the skipper under the marine pollution act as well as the penal code for criminal negligence,” a spokeswoman for Attorney-General Dappula de Livera told reporters in Colombo.

Much of the slick has been cleaned up and no further fuel has leaked from the vessel since Friday. For now, there are no signs of the slick reaching the coast.

The Panamanian-registered tanker’s owners would also be slapped with a $1.88 million fire-fighting bill, de Livera said in a statement.

The vessel is owned by Liberian-registered Porto Emporios Shipping Inc and managed by Greek ship owner, New Shipping Limited, according to the Sri Lankan navy.

Compensation would also be sought from the owners for the cost of any environmental clean-up and damage, the statement added.

Sri Lanka has meanwhile asked the ship’s owners to tow the 330-metre (1,100 foot) tanker beyond its exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from its coast.

The nation’s environmental authorities fear a marine disaster if the tanker is allowed to transfer its oil to another ship in the country’s waters.

The stricken tanker is currently located some 70 nautical miles east off the Sri Lankan coastal town of Batticaloa.

The ship issued a distress signal in early September while en route to the northeast Indian port of Paradip when a boiler exploded killing a Filipino crewman

The vessel’s remaining 22 crew, including the captain, were rescued and are in quarantine at a hotel in the southern port city of Galle under the supervision of the navy.

Courtesy The Island

The State Intelligence Service (SIS)  had not been aware that National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) had direct links to the ISIS, by the time it received information from a foreign source warning of a possible terrorist attack on April 09, 2019, former SIS Director SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena yesterday told the PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks.

SDIG Jayawardena made this statement while being cross-examined by Anura Meddegoda, PC, who appeared for former IGP Pujith Jayasundara.

However, the SIS had found that the NTJ had the intention to carry out a terrorist attack and stressed on the need to arrest NTJ activists, on several occasions, SDIG Jayawardena said.

A commissioner then asked SDIG Jayawardena whether it had occurred to him to ask former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando to summon the National Security Council (NSC) or to contact former President Maithripala Sirisena over the intelligence warning of a suicide attack by Zahran and his associates.

SDIG Jayawardena said that he had not made such a request and had no authority to summon the Security Council. However, I informed the Defence Secretary, the CNI, the IGP, and heads of various specialist security units like the DMI, the CID, the TID, etc.”

It did not cross my mind to tell the Former Defence Secretary to summon the NSC or inform the former President. All I wanted was to stop the attacks. That was the only thing on my mind at that moment. That’s why I told officials with the necessary powers to act.”

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed the officials to complete the national programme to develop 100,000 kilometres of roads by 2024, the President’s Media Division said.

Speaking at a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat to discuss the future plans of the State Ministry of Rural Roads and other Infrastructure Development, President Rajapaksa yesterday said each citizen has a right to obtain easy and comfortable access to roads.

He also said the programme to develop roads should be done without harming the environment.