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The water filling of Kalu Ganga under the Kalu Ganga- Moragahakanda project was inaugurated by the President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday (23).

Kalu Ganga reservoir will be created by blocking the Kalu River at Laggala and Pallegama areas and the capacity of the reservoir is 248 million cubic meters, stated the President’s Media Division.

It is reported that the reservoir will provide water to 3000 families that will be resettled in the lower valley of Kalu River.

Construction of the canal with the tunnel that links Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga reservoirs will also be commenced today under the auspices of the President Maithripala Sirisena.

Source : Derana

Sri Lanka Army has launched a housing project for the persons displaced by the war in Jaffna. Each house which is being constructed under this project is valued at approximately Rs 500,000.

The Army is also carrying out a project to build houses for the low-income families in Jaffna and has already constructed houses for 1000 families in the area.  The housing project will progress under the guidance of the Jaffna Army Commander, Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi.

The Government will impose interest rate limits on microfinance lenders, in a bid to prevent predatory loan schemes targeting vulnerable and impoverished people, especially in the war-affected districts of the North and East, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said in Mullaitivu yesterday.

Minister Samaraweera said he would present the proposal to Cabinet this week, recommending capping annual interest rates at 30 percent for micro-finance loans, during a visit to Mullaitivu yesterday, to launch the Enterprise Sri Lanka programme at several banks in the Northern Province.

A cap on interest rates charged by micro-finance companies has been a long-term demand of groups agitating against exploitative loan schemes targeting the country’s poorest people. Activists say predatory loans charging exorbitant interest rates cause borrowers to take loans on top of loans, creating a cycle of debt that has impoverished communities that are already economically vulnerable, especially in the war-devastated regions, leading to suicide and other socio-economic tensions.

Enterprise Sri Lanka launched by the Ministry of Finance in June this year plans to grant subsidised loans to the public to encourage entrepreneurship.

The lending scheme gives lower-income communities options beyond microfinance loans. The Minister presented cheques to a large number of loan receivers at several banks in both districts and the majority of the recipients were women.

Prabajini Kamalraj, an expectant mother in Mullaitivu was obtaining a loan to complete the roof of her house before the arrival of her first child.

Invited by Minister Mangala Samaraweera to declare open the Enterprise Sri Lanka Desk at the Bank of Ceylon branch in Mullaitivu, Prabajini seemed pleasantly surprised. A majority of those obtaining the low interest loans hoped to build new homes or complete their partly constructed houses while others such as Pathmanathan Perumal, a peanut farmer, obtained a loan of Rs. 200,000 to buy a drizzling water system for his cultivation. Some also obtained loans to buy fishing gear, others to install solar panels for their homes and businesses. The borrowers acknowledged that the process was simple enough compared to obtaining regular loans from banks. However, some of those receiving the loans said they were already in debt.

Commenting on the Enterprise Sri Lanka program, political economist Dr. Ahilan Kadirgamar said it will most likely help to increase production in the North and support the growth of its economy. He said earlier loan disbursement by local banks was low in the North. “The banks have been reluctant to provide loans due to being in an economically bad situation,” he said.

Source : Sunday Observer

Former Secretary to President Austin Fernando has been nominated by the government as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India.

The nomination will have to be approved by the High Posts Committee of parliament and go through mandatory bilateral diplomatic procedures.

However, since the nomination has the full endorsement of President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, it is expected to be approved by the parliamentary High Posts Committee sources said.

A special hotline and a call centre will be set up to resolve issues faced by entrepreneurs using the Enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. 

The Minister said this after declaring open the dedicated counters established to help facilitate the Enterprise Sri Lanka loan application process at the BOC, People's Bank and the Regional Development Bank branches in Mannar. Foundation stones were also laid for a brand new bus stand in Mannar town at a cost of LKR 180 million by Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Rishad Bathiudeen, Patali Champika Ranawaka and Eran Wickramarathne yesterday.

Under the Gamperaliya rapid rural infrastructure development programme, five Divisional Secretariats in the Mannar district will receive a total of LKR 1 Billion.

A man armed with a knife has attacked passengers on a bus in the northern German city of Lübeck, wounding several people, one seriously.

A suspect was arrested at the scene and taken into custody, police said. An area surrounding a bus stop in the Kücknitz neighbourhood was sealed off. Local newspaper reports put the number of wounded at 14.

"The exact number of injured is still unclear. There were no dead," police said in a statement. "The background to the crime is still unclear and is the subject of the ongoing investigation," the statement added.

The attack took place at 13:47 local time (11:47 GMT). Police said the suspect was overpowered by officers at the scene. "We ask for your understanding that we cannot provide any information about the identity of the suspect at the moment," local police said on Twitter.

"The bus was full," the police added, appealing to passengers who fled the scene to contact them. An eyewitness told the local Lübecker Nachrichten newspaper that a passenger had just given up his seat for an older woman, when the attacker stabbed him in the chest.

The local prosecutor said no motive had been ruled out, including terrorism.

Twelve people died in Berlin in December 2016 when a Tunisian who had links to Islamist militants ploughed into a crowded Christmas marketplace.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Sri Lanka as India's special and trusted friend in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region while assuring New Delhi's continued development aid cooperation with the island nation.

"When I look at Sri Lanka, I see not only a neighbour, but a very special and trusted partner of India in South Asia and in the Indian Ocean," Modi said while jointly-e-flagging off with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the second phase of the pre-hospital emergency ambulance service set up with Indian aid.

"I believe that our development aid cooperation with Sri Lanka is an important means for translating our vision of shared progress into reality," he said.

Addressing the gathering in Jaffna in Sri Lanka's Northern Province via video link from New Delhi, Modi recalled that during his visit to Sri Lanka in 2015, Wickremesinghe had first broached the idea of Indian aid for an island-wide emergency ambulance service and the first phase was rolled out in the country's Western and Southern Provinces in July 2016.


Under the first phase, 88 ambulances were purchased for the two provinces while another 209 ambulances are being provided to cover all districts in the country 

"During my visit last year, I had promised that India will work for expanding the pre-hospital emergency ambulance service all over Sri Lanka," he said.

"I am happy that India has fulfilled its promise in a timely manner and we have marked the beginning of the second phase of the service."
Stating that it is not just a coincidence that India had the privilege to be Sri Lanka's partner in establishing this first responder service and in its expansion, Modi said: "In good times and bad, India has been, and will always be the first responder for Sri Lanka."

He urged the people of both countries to be in constant touch with each other so that both sides know each other better and become even closer friends.

On his part, Wickremesinghe said that this free emergency ambulance service became possible only because Modi kept a promise that he had made earlier.

"We are investing a lot in health and education services and for this we are getting a lot of aid from the Indian government," he said while thanking his Indian counterpart.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) will recruit 250 graduates as investigative officers.

This is the first time that graduates will be recruited outside the police department to serve as investigative officers. 

The gazette notification issued by the Director General of the CIABOC, Sarath Jayamanne has announced the recruitment of 17 candidates for the post of Legal Assistant and 50 candidates as Corruption Prevention Officers.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government is looking at easing the air traffic system including visas for tourists to boost the island's tourism industry, local media reported Saturday.

Speaking at the Hotel Show Colombo 2018 in the capital of Colombo, Wickremesinghe said that easing visa requirements for tourists was an important step for the island's rapidly developing tourism as the basic requirements of entry into the country must be streamlined.

Wickremesinghe stressed the importance of increasing the number of tourists visiting the country, thereby bringing in more revenue and improving the people's income.

"For us, in the short term, tourism is one of the job creators," the prime minister said. "It means a future for Sri Lankan employment. It means a future for Sri Lankan youth," he added.

Sri Lanka's tourism industry, which was once heavily scarred by a 30-year civil conflict, has become one of the leading industries after the island was dubbed as one of the world's greatest tourist hot spots  by international publications.

Tourist arrivals have recorded a growth of 15.3 percent during the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year, statistics from the Tourism Ministry showed.

India, China and Britain have remained the largest growing markets.

Sri Lankan Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said recently that the government was targeting a revenue of 4.4 billion U.S. dollars through tourism this year.

(Xinhua)

As part of the National Plan to develop the Sri Lankan tourism industry, the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs in partnership with the Policy Development Office (PDO) of the Prime Minister's Office have taken measures to standardize and develop adventure tourism and training in Sri Lanka which has been earmarked as an emerging sector with great potential to expand.

Under this initiative, the working group on Skill Development with the assistance of industry stakeholders and the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) has developed the National Competency Standards (NCS) and National Unified Curricula (NVQ Level 4) for adventure tourism and skills development with a view to providing recognition and quality training.

Accordingly, SLITHM with the assistance of TVEC, NAITA and other industry stakeholders have developed the curricula for following occupations;

1.Watercraft Operator (Paddle Boat) 

2.Watercraft Operator (Personal Watercraft) 

3.Trekking/ Hiking Guide 

4.Ground Control Agent 

5.Parachute Rigger

The first batch of trainees will start at the end of August 2018 for Trekking/ Hiking Guide and Parachute Rigger at SLITHM.

Minister of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment, Harin Fernando, emphasised that the Government of Sri Lanka has accorded priority to increase foreign employment opportunities available for Sri Lankans in semi-skilled and skilled categories, with a clear focus on diversification of labour markets. 

The Minister particularly highlighted the long-term productive contributions made by Sri Lankan labour migrants to the growth of Sri Lanka’s economy. 

Fernando made these remarks during a meeting with Ambassador William Lacy Swing, the Director General of International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other senior officials in Geneva on Friday.

The IOM Director General expressed his gratitude for the excellent bilateral cooperation between Sri Lanka and the IOM and conveyed his appreciation for Sri Lanka’s leadership in the Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) as well as its contribution and stewardship of the Colombo Process (CP).

Director General Swing stressed that these regional processes along with other initiatives such as migrant health and migration governance can be harnessed into practical and cooperative programmes that could help many countries to leverage migration for development gains.

Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has ordered to take disciplinary action against 14 officers over the massive explosion of Salawa army ammunition storage in Kosgama.

The disciplinary action will be taken against 14 Army officers including a brigadier, who was the Deputy Commander of the camp at the time of the explosion and subsequent fire on 5 June 2016.

Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has taken this decision based on the report of the internal investigation into the incident.

While the brigadier and the other officers were in the camp at the time of the incident, they have not acted to contain the fire and the massive destruction that followed.

The main charges against the 14 officers are their failure to prevent the explosion and spread of the fire and failure to deploy sufficient army cadre to prevent the spread of the inferno that destroyed the surrounding area homes and businesses.

According to the report prepared by the Army Commander the blast has caused over Rs. 1.28 billion in damage to the camp , vehicles and other state property. The damages to the private property including homes and businesses were estimated at Rs. 11.5 million.

The Government Analyst's report on the incident is expected to reveal the cause of the explosion. However it has not been released yet.

In addition to the Government Analyst's report on the explosion and fire, a team of officers appointed to investigate the explosion had conducted their own investigation.

The Army Commander has prepared his final report based on the report submitted to the court by the investigation team. Army's legal division will take disciplinary action against the 14 officers based on the final report.

In addition, the Army Commander has decided to conduct a separate investigation into the death of Corporal Janaka Chaminda, who died during the fire.

The fire erupted following the explosion and the subsequent explosion of ammunition shells showered several square kilometers surrounding the camp and destroyed homes, vehicles and businesses as well as public buildings. The army camp including vehicles, buildings, valuable assets and records was completely destroyed.

In the aftermath of the disaster, military deployed 3,000 soldiers to rebuild the houses and other buildings destroyed by the catastrophe at government's expense and the government paid compensation to the victims to the tune of Rs. 1.3 billion.

The reconstruction work of the Kosgama Army camp is still undergoing.

Source : Colombo Page