SRI LANKA NEWS (AUGUST 2020) – Compiled by Victor Melder

A study on the abnormalities and polymorphisms of amphibians found within and outside the Horton Plains National Park has identified a distinct frog species that does not belong to its generic “hourglass frog” classification. The study was conducted by graduate research assistant Praneeth Silva of Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Department of Zoology under the supervision of Prof. W. A. D. Mahaulpatha, senior lecturer and head, Department of Zoology. “Our study on amphibian abnormalities and causes found that Taruga eques species is faced with bigger threats in both localities in comparison to other amphibian species”, Silva said. Within and outside regions of the Sri Lankan Plains, habitat modifications due to human activities were the main threat on Taruga eques. The study revealed a novel pattern polymorphism of Taruga eques in that a variety of the species without the hourglass was identified within and outside the Plains, indicating that the common name Taruga eques cannot be broadly classified as an “hour-glass frog”. At the end of the study, new six dorsal colour variations and five dorsal pigment patterns of Taruga eques could be newly introduced to the science. Silva said that a total of 694 amphibians belonging to four families and 11 species were recorded in five lentic water bodies which were studied. Five hundred and eleven (511) individuals were examined inside the Plains and 183 outside the region. Of the 511 individuals, only 4.5 percent of the amphibians had abnormalities. Of the 183 individuals examined outside the Plains, 80.87 percent had abnormalities. Of the 511 inspected amphibians within the Plains, 0.59 percent suffered from ectromelia and four percent had cysts. Of the 183 amphibians examined outside the Plains, 80.33 percent had cysts and 0.55 percent had femoral projections. Cysts accounted for most of the abnormalities in both environments. Most of the infections (60 percent) recorded in the amphibians inside the Plains were mild. In contrast 77.55 percent of the infections recorded in the amphibians outside the Plains were moderate. “They are called hourglass tree frogs as they have a colour pattern like an hour glass mark on their dorsum (back). They are highland species, and are very sensitive to temperature and humidity so in addition to habitat loss and forest fragmentation, there will be a future threat to them due to climate change”, he warned. (Sunday Island, 2.8.2020)

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has won a landslide victory at the 2020 Parliamentary election, final results of the poll shows.  Based on the final results of the 22 electoral districts, the SLPP has won 145 seats in the 225 legislature with  6,853,693 of the total valid votes. The SLPP won 128 seats outright while also securing 17 National List seats. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) won 54 seats. The SJB won 47 seats outright and also secured seven National List seats with 2,771,984 share of the valid vote.  The Jathika Jana Balavegaya (JJB) won three seats with 445,958 votes. Two of the seats were won outright while the party also secured one National List slot. The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) won nine seats, along with one National List seat, securing 327,168 votes. The United National Party (UNP) could not win a single seat outright, but has managed to secure a National List seat based on the island-wide vote count.  Various other parties have won the remaining 12 seats in the new Parliament.(Time Online, 8.8.2020)

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has mustered the necessary numbers to show a 2/3 majority in Parliament, SLPP Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris said today. Speaking at a media briefing held at the party head office at Nelum Mawatha, he pointed out that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and several other minor parties allied to SLPP, such as Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP) and the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), which contested under different symbols, would form the two-thirds majority. Prof. Peiris said that the people have given them a strong vote to carry out the President’s mandate. He added that they would even go for a Constitutional amendment to address the issues of the 19 Amendment. (Times Online, 8.8.2020)   

The Central Bank has printed money totalling more than Rs. 450 billion up to July since the last week of February this year. It has pumped Rs. 164.9 billion in March and another Rs. 92.5 billion in April, totalling more than Rs. 257 billion in these two months alone, informed source said. In the meantime, according to Treasury estimates, it is expected that government borrowings for 2020 on a net basis would be in the region of Rs. 1,257 billion. However, a senior Treasury official said that money printing or expansion of reserve money taking place since January this year would not result in picking up speed of the economy or increase inflation. Usually, money printing refers to the expansion of reserve money (monetary base). Sri Lanka’s reserve money (printed money) has decreased to Rs. 869 billion during the last week of July from Rs. 996.5 billion a month ago compared to Rs. 874.5 billion a year ago, Central Bank data showed. This was mainly due to the decrease in currency in circulation and deposits held by commercial banks with the Central Bank. Reserve money increased by 10.5 percent, on year-on-year basis, while the growth of broad money (M2b) increased by 13.2 percent on a year-on-year basis. Total foreign borrowing on net basis would be Rs. 523 billion, while the balance will be borrowed domestically, data show. The total borrowing limit approved by the Vote on Account for the first four months of 2020 amounted to Rs. 721 billion, within which the utilisation of government borrowings for the period from January 1 to April 30, 2020 was Rs. 629.9 billion, according to Finance Ministry data. Total domestic and foreign borrowing limits to finance cash flow operations and development projects during the period amounted to Rs. 509.9 billion and Rs. 120 billion, respectively. (Sunday Times, 9.8.2020)

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will swear-in a Cabinet of Ministers numbering 26 next Friday (August 14) and not avail himself of a Constitutional provision that allows him to enlarge his Cabinet if he opts to go in for a National Government with parties outside the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) alliance. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution permits a Cabinet of 45 Ministers if there is a National Government. President Rajapaksa has decided that the SLPP will function as a single political entity despite the wide support from its partners. The new Cabinet will be sworn in at a ceremony to be held at the Magul Maduwa or the Audience Hall of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. Today, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will be sworn-in from the precincts of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya. All newly elected SLPP parliamentarians and those from the alliance partners such as the  SLFP, the NFF, the MEP, the PHU, the CP,  the DLF, the LSSP and the CWC have been invited to take part in today’s ceremony besides special invitees. President Rajapaksa has also decided not to avail himself of the existing constitutional provisions that allow him to swear-in 45 ministers if it is a National Government. With the swearing-in of a new Cabinet of Ministers, President Rajapaksa is also to name a larger team of State and Deputy Ministers. This is under a new concept where holders of such office will be given specific responsibilities and called upon to execute them. They will centre on several development projects, a government source said yesterday. The total number of Deputy and State Ministers is not expected to exceed 40, the same source said. This is notwithstanding the Constitution providing for 45 deputies and non cabinet ministers if it is a National Government. The SLPP-led alliance won 145 seats and now has a two-thirds majority with the support from the EPDP (2 seats), SLFP (1 seat), National Congress (1 seat) and Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (1 seat).(Sunday Times, 9.8.2020)

A new variant of a popular Sri Lankan aquarium fish has been discovered by local and foreign researchers. The freshwater fish, genus Rasbora, (commonly called ‘dandiya’) is one of the most diverse groups of freshwater fishes in tropical Asia. In Sri Lanka, previous studies have shown that there are five species (Rasbora dandia, R. microcephalus, R. wilpita, R. naggsi, and R. armitagei) of which the last three are endemic to the island. This diversity is remarkable when compared with peninsular India, which is about 25 times the size of Sri Lanka but contain only four species of Rasbora. Biologists earlier believed there were only five varieties of the popular aquarium fish endemic to Sri Lanka. However, with the discovery of the sixth species, Rasbora has gained a new reputation among Sri Lankan freshwater fish breeders, hobbyists and harvesters. The researchers carried out multiple analysis using “finer geographic sampling and greater sample sizes”, thereby corroborating the validity of six species of Rasbora (scientifically called as ‘Cyprinidae’) in Sri Lanka. A researchers said that more extensive sampling of Rasbora in India, and Malaysia is based on multiple markers may reveal “a more complex phylogenetic topology” (diversity). Rasbora is generally believed to have arrived in the island from the Indian sub-continent centuries ago when Sri Lanka stood geographically merged with India.  In the latest study, researchers confirm this belief. “Our analysis suggest that Sri Lankan Rasbora derive from a Mid Miocene, India to Sri Lanka dispersal”, he noted, and added that Sri Lankan Rasbora diversity is higher than that of the Indian peninsula. The first-ever molecular phylogeny of Sri Lankan Rasbora and reassess the taxonomic identities of the five species of Sri Lankan Rasbora based on an island-wide survey. In this study, based on molecular, morphological and statistical analyses using finer geographic sampling, validate the five putative species of Rasbora previously recognized in Sri Lanka. In addition, a new species of Rasbora was discovered from eastern Sri Lanka. This new species was named Rasbora adisi. The species name “adisi” means mysterious or enigmatic in Sinhala: an allusion to the cryptic nature of this species. The new species is found in eastern basins in Sri Lanka such as Gal Oya, Menik River and Kumbukkan River and show the closest resemblance to Rasbora naggsi. However, the new species is different from R. naggsi by a combination of morphological characters in addition to been genetically distinct. (Sunday Leader, 9.8.2020)

The Colombo-Kankesanthurai express train derailed at Kanagarayankulam, Vavuniya  after colliding with an elephant. Although passengers escaped unharmed in the accident, the elephant was killed. Environmentalists claim that a number of areas where elephants cross railway lines have been identified and successive governments have tried to solve the issue unsuccessfully. Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) said that Trincomalee – Anuradhapura-Habarana and the stretch between Madu and Mannar were also areas where similar accidents took place regularly. “We have tried many short term solutions. For example there is a proposal to fix a horn to scare away elephants, a proposal to implement speed limits and to take wildlife officers in trains. All these measures have failed.” Chamikara said that one of the best solutions to the perennial problem was to elevate the railway track in identified areas of traditional elephant crossing so that the poor animals could pass such places unharmed underneath the track. We don’t need to elevate the track for miles. That can be done only in areas where train-elephant accidents are frequent.” (Daily Island, 10.8 .2020)

A team of ichthyologists in their latest study on carnivorous fish of Sri Lanka points out that Channa orientalis also known as the Ceylon snakehead, is the only pelvic-fin less snakehead in Sri Lanka. Snakeheads are one of the main carnivorous groups of freshwater fish in Sri Lanka. They belong to the family Channidae and the genus Channa. There are six species of Channa in Sri Lanka, two of which are endemic. The two endemic species are Channa ara and Channa orientalis. Channa orientalis also known as the Ceylon snakehead is the only pelvic-fin less snakehead in Sri Lanka. The latest study on the genetic diversity and morphological stasis in the Ceylon Snakehead found that the taxonomic identity and the type locality of this species were not certain. Scientist Hiranya Sudasinghe said. “We show that C. orientalis is composed of two geographically and genetically distinct lineages but which show remarkable morphological similarity between the two lineages. The recognition of two distinct genetic lineages is important because, when it comes to conservation management of this species, these two lineages could be recognised as two Evolutionary Significant Units that would deserve separate conservation attention.” Channa orientalis is distinguished from other species of Channa by the absence of pelvic fins, adult colouration in life, dorsal- and anal-fin ray counts, number of vertebrae, and scale counts,” the team pointed out. As the type species of the genus Channa, the identity of the pelvic-finless snakehead Channa orientalis Bloch is important to channid systematics. Although this name has been attached to a Sri Lankan species for the past 160 years, its vaguely specified type locality, ‘India Orientali’, has long cast doubt as to its origin. Based on a collection across its range in the island and analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) barcoding gene, scientists show that the Sri Lankan pelvic-finless Channa is composed of two geographically discrete lineages separated by an uncorrected pairwise cox1 genetic distance of 6.9–8.1%. (Daily Island, 11.8.2020)

The Cabinet of Ministers and State Ministers of the new Government, led by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), were sworn in before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, yesterday. The President has repeatedly stressed the requirement of an efficient Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to build a prosperous nation in the future. According to the “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” Policy (Saubhagyaye Dekma) statement, the composition of the Cabinet has been formulated in a pragmatic and a realistic manner to implement the national programme. Special attention has been paid to the areas of national security, economic development, infrastructure facilities, education, health, and sports in the process of formulation of the ministerial structure. The new Cabinet of Ministers comprises 25 Ministers, including the Prime Minister. There are 39 State Ministers, and 23 Members of Parliament have been appointed as District Coordinating Committee Chairmen. (Daily News, 15.8.2020)

While the President’s Office said that composition of the Cabinet has been formulated in a pragmatic and realistic manner to implement the national program in keeping with the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour policy statement, many were bemused by the choice of portfolios for some State Ministers. Among these, the portfolio given to Shasheendra Rajapaksa making him the State Minister for Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chilies, Onions and Potatoes, Seed Production and High-Tech Agriculture drew many public comments. Many took to social media to discuss the new portfolios and some referred to Rajapaksa as State Minister for Grocery List. Prasanna Ranaweera, who was involved in the chilli attack during clashes in the last Parliament, was made the State Minister of Cane, Brass, Clay Furniture and Rural Industry Promotion, which was also viewed with bemusement. SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara was put in charge of the subjects of Batik, Handloom Fabrics and Local Apparel Products, while Puttalam District MP elect Arundika Fernando was appointed the State Minister for Coconut, Fishtail Palm, Palmyra, and Rubber product Promotion. Janaka Wakkumbura was named the State Minister for Development of Sugarcane, Maize, Cashew, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Betel Production and Promotion of Allied Products and Export while D. B. Herath was appointed to be in charge of Livestock and Farm Promotion and Dairy and Eggs Related Industries. Wimalaweera Dissanayake was appointed State Minister for Wildlife Conservation Protection Programs including Electric Fence and Ditch Construction, Re-Forestation and Wildlife Resources Development while Kanchana Wijesekera was made State Minister for Ornamental Fish, Freshwater Fish and Shrimp Farming Development, Multi-day Fishing and Fish Export. Former MP Mangala Samaraweera took to Twitter to call the “subjects of state ministers are hilarious”. (Daily Financial Times, 13.8.2020)

Prior to the November Budget, a Vote on Account to the tune of Rs. 1.6 trillion (Rs. 1,600 billion) is being given priority by the government to settle old bills and kickstart the economy To be presented in Parliament immediately after Cabinet approval is obtained, the urgent requirement is to pay outstanding bills for road and building constructions among other payments. The expenses will cover an estimated Rs 200 billion needed to be paid for completion of construction projects. These payments have been delayed for more than one year. Some of the outstanding bills including those in the health sector will also be settled through the Vote on Account.  Among other outstanding bills are payments of more than Rs 15 billion for construction projects of schools. Some of them have been abandoned due to the failure to complete payments. Provisions will also be made to provide for the payment of foreign loans and some of the new projects including road development and power projects. The Vote on Account would help to ensure that the Government was able to carry on without obstacles until the Budget was presented. President Gotabaya Rajapaska earlier presented two Votes on Account for this year’s expenses. In February the Government abandoned a move to amend the Vote on Account to obtain an additional Rs. 367 billion for Government expenses and to increase the limit of borrowing, after the then opposition refused to support it. The UNP opposed the move to increase the limit on borrowings to Rs. 1088 billion from Rs. 721 billion, saying this would put additional burden on the people and the economy. (Sunday Times, 16.8.2020)

A team of Lankan scientists has decided to name a newly discovered a skink species from the central hills of the country after US herpetologist, Alan Resetar in honour of his contribution to the conservation of herpetofauna. This species had previously been confused with two other species known in their binominal names Eutropis carinata and Eutropis beddomei. The new species had been recorded from the highest elevations from about 1,000 metres to 1,600 metres in the Central Hills. “We have decided to name it as Rutropis resetarii in recognition of the services rendered by US herpetologist Resetar to the field of herpetofauna studies”. Resetar of the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Field Museum of Natural History is known for his lifelong dedication to herpetology and his behind the scenes contributions to homalopsid snake research. The team headed by Batuwita comprises scientists Sampath Udugampala and Udeni Edirisinghe.(Daily Island, 25.8.2020)

Parliament yesterday approved the Vote on Account of the Government. The Vote on Account of the Government seeking approval to spend a sum not exceeding Rs.1300 billion for the period from September 1 until the budget for 2020 is passed was presented to Parliament on Thursday. Subsequent to being taken up for debate over two days the Vote on Account was passed last evening without a division. (Daily News, 29.8.2020)