News

The banning of the import and use of chemical fertiliser at the same time was mistakenly made, revealed Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Udith K. Jayasinghe, justifying that this had happened due to the wrong instructions given in this regard.

He added that neither the President nor the Agriculture Minister is responsible for the decision.

The Ministerial Secretary went on justifying that the persons advising the Minister and the government regarding agriculture should have given instructions in a manner by which the farming community is systematically discouraged to use chemical fertiliser thereby driving them to adapt organic farming, instead of banning chemical fertiliser via gazette declarations.

Had the gazettes been issued on permitting the import and the use of environmentally friendly plant nutrients, the situation in the country would have gotten much better, Jayasinghe emphasised.

The Agriculture Secretary further stated that the President’s Vision for Prosperity promised the systematic reduction of the use of chemical fertiliser in the objective of introducing high quality plant nutrients to a culture that caters to agrochemicals. As a person who contributed to formulating the manifesto, Jayasinghe said that he is very well aware of the President’s intent.

The intent, however, has wrongly been communicated to the society due to the inaccurate advice of the advisors, the Secretary went on, adding that the President has held discussions on the current situation with the ministers, researchers and administrators and that the crisis will be resolved.

Jayasinghe also pointed out that an account of high quality bio fertiliser should be adapted instead of toxic fertiliser.

LNW

Hundreds of fishermen in the Northern Province engaged in a protest today (17) against the forcible encroaching on Sri Lankan waters by their Indian counterparts.

Ada Derana reporter said that around one hundred fishing boats set out to sea from Mullaitivu to Point Pedro to engage in the protest, hoisting black flags with “#SaveOurFishermen” written on them.

The protest had been organized to demand that authorities to put an end to the illegal encroachment by Indian fishing trawlers in Sri Lankan territorial waters and also against the attacks on Sri Lankan fishermen and the damaging of their fishing nets by Indian fishers.

The protesters say that fishermen in the Northern Province are facing serious issues due to no permanent solution being provided for this long-standing Indian fishermen issue.

Representatives of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) including MPs M.A. Sumanthiran and Shanakiyan Rasamanickam also participated in the protest campaign.

In a video posted on his twitter account, Shanakiyan said that the protest is against the inaction by Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda to resolve the issue.

He accused the minister of “standing idly by” while Indian fishermen enter into Sri Lankan waters and engage in illegal fishing and other practices.

A total of 18 more COVID-19 related deaths that occurred yesterday (18) were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services today pushing the death toll to 13,525.

According to the Government Information Department, 09 females and 09 males are among the deceased.

A total of 11 people who are above 60 years of age are among the deceased while 06 of them are between 30 and 59 years of age.

One death has occured below the age of 30.

Sri Lanka has sought a $500 million credit line from India to pay for its crude oil purchases amid a severe foreign exchange crisis in the island nation.

The move came few days after energy minister Udaya Gammanpila warned that the current availability of fuel in the island nation can be guaranteed only till next January.

The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owes nearly $3.3 billion to the two main government banks -- Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank.

The state oil distributors imports crude from the Middle East and refined products from other areas, including Singapore.

“We are currently engaged with the Indian High Commission here to obtain the facility ($500 credit line) under the India-Sri Lanka economic partnership arrangement," CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe was quoted as saying by a local news website.

He said the facility would be utilised for purchasing petrol and diesel requirements.

The energy secretaries of both India and Lanka are expected to sign an agreement for the loan soon, the report quoted Finance Secretary S R Attygalle as saying.

The government has put on hold the expected retail price hike of fuel despite the last week's increase in cooking gas and other essentials.

The price hike in the global oil prices has forced Lanka to spend more on oil imports this year. The country's oil bill has jumped 41.5 per cent to $2 billion in the first seven months of this year, compared to last year.

Lanka is facing a severe foreign exchange crisis after the pandemic hit the nation's earnings from tourism and remittances, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa had said last month.

The country's Its GDP contracted by a record 3.6 per cent in 2020 and its foreign exchange reserves plunged by over a half in one year through July to just $2.8 billion. This has led to a 9 per cent depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the dollar over the past one year, making imports more expensive.

(Times of India)

The Cabinet has given approval to amend existing laws and regulations applicable to ban cattle slaughter in Sri Lanka and to table them in the Parliament, says the Government Information Department.

This was announced at the weekly cabinet news briefing today (19).

Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted on September 28, 2020, to prohibit cattle slaughter in order to increase local agriculture and local milk production and to amend the laws and regulations applicable to it.

Further, it gave the green light to amend by-laws passed by local government institutions in relation to cattle slaughter.

Accordingly, the legal draftsman has drafted bills to amend the following acts/ordinances:

• Authority 272 of the Cattle Slaughter Ordinance No. 09 of 1893

• Animal Act. No. 29 of 1958

• Authority 252 of Municipal Councils Ordinance

• Authority 255 of Urban Councils Ordinance

• Pradeshiya Sabha Ordinance No. 15 of 1987

The Attorney General has certified that the said bills are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted the approval to the consolidated resolution tabled by the Prime Minister – in his capacity as the Minister of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government – and Minister of Agriculture to publish these bills in the government gazette as notifications and thereby table in Parliament.

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.

A total of 23 more COVID-19 related deaths that occurred yesterday (17) were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services today pushing the death toll to 13,507.

According to the Government Information Department, 13 females and 10 males are among the deceased.

A total of 21 people who are above 60 years of age are among the deceased while 02 of them are between 30 and 59 years of age.

The Colombo High Court today (15) discharged Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and former Director-General of Divi Neguma, Kithsiri Ranawaka from the 2015 misappropriation case.

A case had been filed against Rajapaksa and Ranawaka, for allegedly misappropriating Rs. 36.5 million from the Divi Neguma fund to purchase and distribute GI pipes, in the run up to the 2015 Presidential Election.

The Attorney General withdrew the indictments filed against both suspects when the case was taken up in Court today, after which judge Namal Balalle ordered the release of Rajapks and Ranawaka.

The head of Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, and Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero filed a Fundamental Rights Application with the Supreme Court seeking an order to prevent the transfers of shares of the Yugadanavi Power Plant to New Fortress Inc.

In addition, the FR application seeks an order to prevent the government from awarding the LNG supply contract to New Fortress Inc.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Cabinet of Ministers, Cabinet Secretary, Finance Secretary, the Attorney General among 54 others were named as respondents in the application.

New Fortress Inc. was also named as a respondent in the application.

The FR application seeks to make null the decision reached by the Cabinet of Ministers on the said agreement on the 6th of September and prevent the agreement from being enforced until the examination of the application is concluded.

The Teachers Unions announced that they will give the Government time until 21 October to resolve the issues pertaining to salary anomalies.

Joseph Stalin, the General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union questioned the Government for not taking steps to provide teachers, who work tirelessly to provide education, with Rs. 30 billion as the Government clearly has the capability to do so.

Pointing out that the very same Government made the decision to give Rs. 120 Million to Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of District coordinating committees for the purpose of holding Provincial General Elections, Starlin said that the Government having funds for these expenses but not having funds to solve the salary issue of teachers and principals is a big question.

The teachers and principals union took a step back and asked for less than the prescribed amount in the Subodini Committee report, he continued.

” The Subodini Committee report prescribed for Rs. 71 Billion to be given to teachers and principals, yet what we requested was a proposal of Rs. 30 Billion. Therefore, We will continue this trade union action in the coming week. We will have to announce our decision on the re-opening of school if a solution is not given before 21 October” He further stated.

News 1st

The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another twelve Covid-19 related deaths for October 16, increasing the death toll in Sri Lanka due to the virus to 13,484.

According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the deaths confirmed today include 08 males and 04 females.

Three of them, including a female, are between the ages 30-59 years while the remaining nine are aged 60 years and above.

A total of 21 more COVID-19 related deaths that occurred yesterday (13) were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services today pushing the death toll to 13,429.

According to the Government Information Department, 6 females and 15 males are among the deceased.

A total of 16 people who are above 60 years of age are among the deceased while 5 of them are between 30 and 59 years of age.