SRI LANKA NEWS
(JANUARY 2023)
Compiled – by Victor Melder.
The Police Narcotics Bureau in operations conducted in 2022 along with other security forces agencies has arrested 46,258 people related to drug offenses. During the raids conducted in 2022, 1,548 kg of heroin were seized. The value of the seized heroin is over 20.9 billion rupees. Also, the police have raided around 200 places near schools where drugs, intoxicants, intoxicating toffee chocolates and other sweets were sold. Police continue to conduct these raids on information received that the school students are addicted to various types of drugs including ice (crystal methamphetamine) drugs, narcotic pills and intoxicating sweets. (Colombo Page, 2.1.2023)
Sri Lanka tourism ended the year 2022 on a positive note, as the arrivals of international visitors to the country for the final month of the year crossed the 90,000 mark, while the total arrivals for the year topped 700,000. December saw a total of 91,961 tourists entering the island nation, recording the third highest monthly arrivals in 2022. The December arrivals were up 53.8 percent from the November tourist arrivals. (Daily Mirror, 3.1.2023)
The Sri Lankan government is expecting to earn an additional income of 22 billion rupees from a hike in cigarette and alcohol taxes, State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has said. Excise tax on all types of liquor including wine and beer has been increased by 20 percent since midnight yesterday (03). Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has stated that the tax on cigarettes will be increased by 20 percent with effect from January 1st. Accordingly, a 90 rupee cigarette will be increased to 105 rupees, an 85 rupee cigarette will be increased to 100 rupees and a 70 rupee cigarette will be increased to 80 rupees. A 60 rupee cigarette is expected to increase to 70 rupees and a 15 rupee cigarette to 24 rupees. In addition to this, Mr. Siyambalapitiya said that a tax of 2 rupees will be charged for every beedi produced in Sri Lanka. (Colombo Page, 4.1.2023)
Due to large-scale environmental destruction in Sri Lanka, the forest density, which was 83% in 1882, has shrunk to 16%, and the number of elephant deaths in the country between January and December 5, 2022, is 395, the Centre for Environment and Nature Studies (CENS) said. The National Coordinator of CENS, Ravindra Kariyawasama, said today that, as the World Food and Agriculture Organization has mentioned several times that Sri Lanka ranked fourth among the countries that destroy primary forests in the world. According to CENS data, there was a massive environmental destruction in 2021, with 65 acres of forests destroyed per day. According to the Global Forest Watch (GFW) organization, 5.3% of primary forests have been destroyed in the country since 2002. They pointed out that 1,500 acres of forest were destroyed in the Thrikonamadu Forest Reserve in the Polonnaruwa district. Samanala Strict Forest Reserve, Sinharaja, and Gal Oya National Forest Reserve were destroyed, as was an attempt to distribute 12,500 acres of Wattegama Kebilitta Forest Reserve among Chena cultivators. Meanwhile, the CENS said the last year (2021) was a year when Sri Lanka’s elephants encountered a serious threat. The number of elephant deaths in Sri Lanka between January and December 5, 2022, is 395; 127 people died due to elephant attacks. About 20 more elephant deaths were reported in this country than in 2021, and the highest number of elephant deaths (207) reported in the country was in 2019. 318 elephant deaths have been reported in 2020 and 375 elephant deaths in 2021, they said. At present, one elephant dies in Sri Lanka every day. Elephant habitat has been shrunken by 15% in the past 50 years, and human-elephant conflict have increased since elephant corridors, farmland, and settlements have been converted. (Daily Mirror, 5.1.2023)
Ceylon Tea is facing its worst crisis as the industry has to deal with costly fertiliser inputs and delayed distribution of glyphosate that has pushed Sri Lanka to the edge leading to a loss of market share and its position as the world’s largest exporter of orthodox black teas. Asia Siyaka Commodities Managing Director Anil Cooke said that export volumes have dropped by around 90 million kg compared to quantities shipped over the past years. This has then resulted in a loss in revenue of about US$400-500 million. Sri Lanka kept losing its markets due to a drop in volumes that resulted in some of the other competing nations becoming the preferred choice. Sri Lanka produces the unique orthodox black teas with export volumes totaling around 330 million kg in previous years. Sri Lanka’s orthodox teas are challenged by India and Vietnam which are both producing orthodox teas similar to Sri Lanka in small quantities. “We have created the perfect entry point for these two countries,” Mr. Cooke said. Kenya too has started to experiment orthodox teas on their estates. Given this situation the price in dollar terms has risen as well, it was pointed out resulting in some of the loyal buyers of Ceylon Tea shifting to other more inexpensive teas. In the meantime the volumes to Japan have dropped by about 40-45 per cent and this has impacted on the high growns as they are the dominant buyer of the Dimbula, Uva and Nuwara Eliya teas. “Their impact on the auction is two to three times the actual purchase,” Mr. Cooke said. Tea factories are facing a crisis since the cost of production has risen due to the low crop resulting in most factories running under capacity. Despite the struggles faced by the factories they continue to sustain themselves but the situation could be aggravated should the electricity tariff be increased further and if the smallholder is not provided fertiliser at a reduced rate, production volumes will continue to be low, he said. Last year production dropped between 17-20 per cent that saw a revenue loss of about $179 million during this period, he said. The industry expects a recovery this year with production volumes targeted at 300 million kg by the end of the year for which government intervention is required to provide fertiliser at an affordable price. Else this expected increase cannot be achieved, Mr. Herath explained. Costs have reached sky high proportions with a bag of fertiliser increasing from the previous Rs.5000 to Rs.15-20, 000 and further the high interest cost has also impacted on the factories, he noted. Due to the inability to purchase fertiliser at high prices, January too will see a drop in volumes compared to the previous year, Mr. Herath said. (Sunday Times, 8.1.2023)
While an increase in the rate of tourist arrivals was witnessed from mid-November, where the average daily arrivals started to pick up from 1,500 to 1,700 by the first week of December, it shot up to about 2,300. This went on to further increase from December 23, just before the Christmas holidays, to 4,300. With the key source markets showing keen interest in destination Sri Lanka toward the end of the year, the island nation ended 2022 with a total 719,978 international visitors. The Tourism Ministry expected to close the year with at least 800,000 tourists, for which several initiatives and promotional campaigns were carried out in potential source markets in the fourth quarter. Following the political and economic crisis that escalated in April, just after Sri Lanka saw tourist arrivals crossing the 100,000 mark in March—first time since the pandemic struck—the tourism sector was severely impacted with the travel advisories issued against visiting Sri Lanka. The negative portrayal of the country in international media made it increasingly challenging to draw tourists. However, with the return of stability, the tourist arrival numbers started moving towards the positive growth trajectory from October. Based on the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, India was the largest tourist traffic generator for destination Sri Lanka in 2022, accounting for 17 percent of the total tourist arrivals. Ranking second was the Russian Federation, accounting for 13 percent and the United Kingdom accounted for 12 percent, becoming the third largest source market. This year, the tourism industry expects China to regain its position as one of the key source markets for Sri Lanka tourism. Starting from January 8, China’s National Health Commission announced that the inbound travelers would no longer have to go into quarantine and there would be no official restriction on Chinese people going abroad. However, with the COVID-19 infections and casualties on the rise in China, several countries across the world have been quick to impose fresh health protocols that are mandatory for Chinese travelers. (Daily Mirror, 3.1.2023)
The modernisation of the 130 km of railway track between Maho, in the North-Western Province, and Omanthai, in the Northern Province commenced at a ceremony attended by Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Dr Bandula Gunawardena and High Commissioner of India, HE Gopal Baglay, held near the Medawachchiya railway station, on Sunday (08). The existing railway track between Maho and Omanthai is over 117 years old and 12 crossing stations, eight halt stations, 213 culverts, 90 bridges and 80 level crossings are to be upgraded. The work is being carried out by IRCON International, a subsidiary of the Indian Railway, at a cost of 91,268,599.60 USD under a special Indian Credit line. The Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) has been appointed as consultants to the project. The modernisation will enable trains to run on the line at a maximum speed of 120kmph which will reduce the travel time between Colombo and Jaffna by about an hour. The work is expected to be completed in five months and until such time the train services on the northern line will be terminated at Anuradhapura. (Daily Island, 9.1.2023)
The Conservator General of Forests Mr. K.M.A Bandara has said that the media reports implying that Sri Lanka’s forest cover has decreased to 16% are false. Conservator General has disclosed this in response to a query made regarding the media report on the instructions of President’s Secretary Mr. Saman Ekanayake, President’s Media Division (PMD) in a statement. The Presidential Secretariat had focused its attention regarding these reports published in the media, the PMD said. The assessment of forest cover is carried out every five years and the census conducted in 2020 is scheduled to be completed in June this year. According to the census conducted in 2015, the natural forests of Sri Lanka stood at 29.15% (1,912,970 hectares) of the total land extent. The Conservator General of Forests also said that although there has been some reduction in the amount of forests due to various development activities and other human activities in the country, there has definitely been no decrease in the amount of forests up to 16% as stated in the media reports. According to media reports, if the forest area in Sri Lanka is 16% of the total land extent, then the existing forest area in the country should be 1,040,000 hectares. This means that 872,970 hectares of forests would have been destroyed during the seven years from 2015, which is 124,710 hectares per year and 341 hectares of forest destruction per day. He also said that the method used to assess the forests should have been described in the presentation of data on forests. Basic points such as the definition of forests, the method of estimating forest size, and the estimation of forest size should have been mentioned in the report. However, there is no source from which the relevant data was obtained in the media reports suggesting that the forest cover had decreased. He also stated that the Forest Department is updating forest maps and that no such forest destruction was observed during those activities. (Colombo Page, 10.1.2023)
Canada has imposed targeted sanctions on four Sri Lankans including former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Other two Sri Lankans sanctioned are staff sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and Lieutenant Commander Chandana Hettiarachchi. A statement from the Canadian government said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced Canada imposed targeted sanctions under regulations pursuant to the Special Economic Measures Act against four Sri Lankan state officials responsible for gross and systematic violations of human rights during armed conflict in Sri Lanka, which occurred from 1983 to 2009. “The regulations pursuant to the Special Economic Measures Act impose on listed persons a dealings prohibition, which would effectively freeze any assets they may hold in Canada and render them inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Despite continued calls from Canada and the international community to address accountability, the Government of Sri Lanka has taken limited meaningful and concrete action to uphold its human rights obligations. This jeopardizes progress on justice for affected populations, and prospects for peace and reconciliation. Victims and survivors of gross human rights violations deserve justice. That is why Canada continues to call on Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitment to establish a meaningful accountability process. These sanctions send a clear message that Canada will not accept continued impunity for those that have committed gross human rights violations in Sri Lanka. Canada will continue to collaborate alongside international partners, including through relevant multilateral bodies to advocate for human rights and accountability in Sri Lanka, which is an important step toward securing a safe, peaceful and inclusive future for the country. Canada, as part of the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council will continue to advocate for the full implementation of resolution 51/1 and support efforts towards attaining accountability and peace on the island. Canada supports efforts towards urgent political and economic reforms to alleviate the hardships faced by the people in Sri Lanka. We strongly encourage the Sri Lankan government to promote democracy, human rights and maintain the rule of law as it works to address this crisis,” the statement said. (Daily Mirror, 10.1.2023)
The International Monetary Fund and other lending bodies had asked Sri Lanka not to print more money, and thus the government was finding it impossible to conduct the most basic functions, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardane said on Tuesday during the post-Cabinet Press Conference. Gunawardena said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe had told the Cabinet that five percent of the estimated expenditure in Budget 2023 to all ministries would be curtailed due to resource constraints. “The President has said that in 2023 the Treasury will face a bigger crisis than previously thought. The main reason is that our economy contracted in 2022 and tax revenue dropped sharply. Expenditure has increased as we have to pay salaries, pensions and interests for money we have borrowed. Minister Gunawardane said that after paying the salaries and pensions, the government found it difficult to carry out any activity and that the Samurdhi payment for January could be delayed by a week or two. He said that in the past Sri Lanka had met the revenue shortfall by printing money and borrowing from foreign sources. “We are in trouble because we printed and borrowed so much in the last 74 years. Now, we can’t pay back the money we have borrowed. Also, the IMF, and other lenders have demanded that we stop printing money. So, the coming months will be tough,” he said. (Daily Island, 11.1.2023)
In a bid to modernise the Army and create a well-balanced force to tackle present-day challenges, the Government has decided to bring down the number of Sri Lanka Army personnel on active duty to 135,000 by 2024. State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said the Government is working on a blueprint which will help Sri Lanka Army become a technically and tactically sound force to deal with modern challenges. He also noted that they expect the size of the Army to reduce to around 100,000 in 2030 to meet upcoming security challenges on a par with the National Security dimensions of the country. The approved cadre of the Sri Lanka Army currently stands at 200,783.
The State Minister of Defence is of the view that authorities will be able to pump ample resources when the country has a manageable Army unit. Military spending is the State-borne expenditure, which indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security,” a statement issued by the Ministry noted yesterday. (Daily Financial Times, 14.1.2023)
Sri Lankan migrant workers’ foreign remittances have increased to US$ 475.6 million in December 2022 from US$ 325.2 million in December 2021, Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said. He tweeted that this is a 46% (US$ 150 million) increase compared to the inflows recorded in December 2021. (Daily Mirror, 15.1.2023)
December income from the tourism trade showed continued improvement, recording over US$ 100 million for the second month in a row as the beleaguered industry is making a comeback after been beset by multiple crises since 2019. The data for December showed that Sri Lanka had earned US$ 127.4 million from tourism, up from US$ 107.5 million in November, as the country is currently witnessing higher arrivals due strong pent-up demand as a result of the pandemic. In December, Sri Lanka received 91,961 visitors, up from 59,759 in November bringing the annual total arrivals to 719,978, the highest since 2019. However, December earnings were down from US$ 233.3 million a year ago. With December earnings, Sri Lanka ended 2022 with a cumulative US$ 1,136.3 million in earnings from the trade. In 2021, Sri Lanka earned US$ 506.9 million from tourism. (Daily Mirror, 16.1.2023)
With the Government grappling to manage its finances, the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Monday approved delaying the monthly salaries of staff grade officers by a few days from the due date. “For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the Cabinet has decided to delay the State-sector employees’ salaries and pension, given the dire financial situation at the Government coffers. We have now reached a level where there is no financial buffer or option left to overcome this situation; till the new tax policies to boost income realises in coming months,” Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday. As per the Government’s decision, salaries of non-executive grades will be paid on the due date, whilst the executive level State-employees will be delayed by a short time. “Previously, the recurrent expenses were always managed through borrowing and by printing money. Today, as a result of such poor financial management policies of successive Governments, the Treasury is unable to manage the essential expenses to run the country. “Sri Lanka could not manage its recurrent expenditure after the economy was opened in 1977. Though Sri Lanka gained political independence 75 years ago, it failed to achieve economic independence,” he stressed. Gunawardena however, assured that the salaries of non-executive grades will be paid as soon as the Government finds an alternative or make arrangements. “As per Treasury Secretary, in December the Government collected through taxes and non-taxes a sum of Rs. 141 billion and from that we have to pay Rs. 88 billion for salaries, Rs. 30 billion for pension and Samurdhi welfare, Rs. 6.5 billion for fertiliser, Rs. 8.7 billion for medicine, and Rs. 154 billion for other administration costs including transport. “In addition, there was an interest payment of Rs. 182 billion for State loans, which was managed by printing money. Against this backdrop, the Government has no option left and the Cabinet took this decision to delay monthly salaries of staff grade officers by a few days from the due date,” he said. Cabinet Co-Spokesman also revealed that the State-sector salaries and pensions have increased by 633% from 2000 to 2021 as a result of the large number of recruitments by successive Governments. At present, there are over 1.5 million Government employees. “Salaries and pensions in 2000 accounted for Rs. 152 billion, in 2005 it was Rs. 185 billion, and in 2010 it was Rs. 478 billion. Up until 2010, successive Governments were able to keep the salaries and pensions expenditure below Rs. 500 billion. “However, in 2015 this increased to Rs. 716, in 2020 it crossed Rs. 1,000 billion to Rs. 1,050 and in 2021 it was Rs. 1,115. These are essential recurrent expenditures and there is no way we can avoid or cut them in an environment where the Government has taken a decision not to print money,” he added. Gunawardena asserted that if the Government policy not to print money is violated to solve the payment of salaries and pensions, it would lead to worse situation
“Other than for extremely important expenses, the Government has decided not to print money. It has also been recommended by the International Monetary Fund since 2003, and as a result, the then administration introduced Financial Management (Responsibility) too. “Thus, the IMF is also on alert as to what measures Government will resort to overcome this financial crisis,” he explained, adding that the Government will be able to manage the situation with the boost in tax income after March. (Daily Financial Times, 18.1.2023)
Sri Lanka’s Tea exports for 2022 earned a record Rs. 411 billion but posted a dip of $ 65.7 million as against previous year’s performance. Sri Lanka Tea Board said export revenue for 2022 was $ 1.259 billion compared with $ 1.324 billion in 2021. “Although the volume exported last year was only 250.2 million kilos, recording a 12.5% decline in comparison to 285.9 million kilos shipped in 2021, netting a revenue marginally less than 2021 shows the continued high demand for Ceylon Tea,” SLTB said. The annual FOB unit price of $ 5.03 per kilo for 2022 compared with $ 4.63 per kg in 2021 confirms the distinct preference for Ceylon Tea. Export quantity for last year was the lowest in 25 years. In 1997, a volume of 247 million kilos was shipped and since then the annual exports have been rising, recording the highest ever quantity of 327 million kilos in 2014. Sri Lanka’s tea export volume is directly related to production. The 2022 production figures which are expected shortly will be one of the lowest in recent times. The harvest was affected due to many shortcomings experienced since 2021, the fertiliser crisis and the banning of herbicides being among the main contributory factors. (Daily Financial Times, 18.1.2023)
Toque monkeys, monkeys, and giant squirrels had destroyed nearly 200 million coconuts by the end of last year, the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agricultural Research and Training Institute said. The information was revealed following a study conducted by the institute “During the past six months, from January to June of 2022, coconut plantations have suffered the most crop damage due to wildlife damage. “Accordingly, 93 million coconuts have been destroyed by Toque monkeys, monkeys, and giant squirrels during the first half of last year. By the end of 2022, the situation worsened to 200 million coconuts,” the study found out. According to the report issued on the conflict between farmers and wild animals, 200 agricultural development areas were damaged by Toque monkeys, 180 agricultural development areas were damaged by giant squirrels, and 50 areas were damaged by monkeys. “In total, 57,815 hectares of coconut cultivation were destroyed across 21 districts. The total amount of land planted with coconuts in those areas is 275,540 hectares. However, 21 per cent of the harvest was damaged,” the study said. “Wild animals destroy between 1600 and 2000 coconuts per cultivated hectare, depending on the number of damaged coconuts,” it said. According to the Coconut Research Institute, the total area under coconut cultivation in the country is 440,640 hectares. 13.1 per cent of the coconuts has been eaten and destroyed by these animals. Kurunegala, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Kegalle, and Moneragala take the lead in the districts where wild animals have caused the most damage to coconut cultivation in the first six months of 2022. The area of crop damage in the Kurunegala District is 24,038 hectares. The Agriculture Ministry had appointed a committee headed by the Secretaries of the two Ministries and the Director-Generals of Wildlife and Forest Conservation for obtaining comments and suggestions from stakeholders to reduce the damage caused to crops by wild animals, an official said. The Ministry of Agriculture has also started extensive discussions with the participation of all parties regarding the measures to be taken to prevent crop damage by wild animals. (Daily Mirror, 18.1.2023)
Sri Lanka’s foreign borrowings in the past seven years were valued at $ 30 billion, Parliament was told yesterday by State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe. He made this revelation in response to a question raised in Parliament by SLPP MP Premanath C. Dolawatte. Semasinghe said the amount of loans received by the Sri Lankan Government from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2022 from foreign countries, agencies and banks was $ 29.92 billion. The value of grants received was $ 349 million. State Minister of Finance further stated that the loans and grants have been used for the specific purposes for which they were obtained. (Daily Financial Times, 20.1.2023)
Sri Lanka has made 327 billion rupees ($900 million) in 2022 by exporting rubber products, the Rubber Development Department said. Director General of the department Madawa Kulasuriya told the media on Saturday that this was a slight drop from 2021 revenue, which was $1 billion, Xinhua news agency reported. However, the South Asian country intends to increase revenue from rubber products to $3 billion by 2025, he said. Major markets for finished rubber products are the US, Germany and Japan, while Pakistan, Germany and Japan are major markets for natural rubber from Sri Lanka, he added. Sri Lanka is one of leading natural rubber exporters in the world, and in 2021 around 70 per cent of income from rubber exports. (Ada Derana News, 22.1.2023)
The Department of Census and Statistics yesterday said the overall rate of inflation as measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) on a year-on-year basis was 59.2% in December. In November it was 65%, in October it was 70.6% and in September it was 73.7%. The annual average inflation rose to 50.4% in December from 46.7% in November 2022. It also showed that the Core Inflation decreased to 57.5% in December from 60.1% in November 2022, while the annual average core inflation increased to 43.9% in December from 40.0% in November 2022. Food inflation decreased to 59.3% in December from 69.8% in November and non-food inflation was down to 59% in December from 60.4% in November 2022.
The contribution of food commodities to inflation was 29.52%, whilst the contribution of non-food items was 29.62%. The change in the NCPI measured on month-on-month basis continued its recent moderating trend and recorded 0.01% in December 2022. This was mainly contributed by the monthly decrease of the prices of the items in the Food category, which amounted to 0.20%. Accordingly, within the Food category, significant decreases were observed in the prices of big onions, dried fish, sugar, vegetables, rice, wheat flour, bread, lime, Mysore dhal, and potatoes. However, increases in index values were reported for coconuts, milk powder, fresh fruits, tea dust/leaves, coconut oil, eggs, red onions and chicken. Nevertheless, the non-food category recorded a monthly increase of 0.21% in December 2022, due to the price increases observed in ‘clothing and footwear’, ‘furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance’ (energy saving bulbs), ‘transport’ (vehicle license fees), ‘recreation and culture’ (books), ‘restaurants and hotels’ and ‘miscellaneous goods and services (toilet soap). However, price decreases in groups of items were reported for ‘alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics’ (betel leaves and areca nuts) and ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ (materials for maintenance). Further, a very slight price increase was reported in the group of ‘health’. Meanwhile, the price indices of the ‘communication’ and ‘education’ groups remained unchanged during the month. (Daily Financial Times, 24.1.2023)
A total of 81 bird species in the country had been listed as ‘threatened’ due to human activities, Environment Ministry’s Biodiversity Secretariat Director Mrs R.H.M.P. Abeykoon said. She said that a list of “Critically Endangered” (CR), “Endangered” (EN), “Near Threatened” (NT), and “Vulnerable” (VU) species had been prepared during a nationwide survey for the Red Data Book of 2021.
She said 19 bird species were listed under the “Critically Endangered” category. There are 48 bird species listed as Endangered, 31 as Near Threatened, and 14 as Vulnerable. She stated that the birds were classified as threatened due to human-caused habitat destruction. The national Red List is a public document recording endangered and rare species of plants, animals, and fungi, as well as some local subspecies that are present in a particular region. Sri Lanka is a biodiversity hotspot with 522 species of birds, and this has been found during a nationwide survey on the National Red List of 2021, she said. “There are about 244 bird species in our country. 178 of them are breeding bird species in the country. 34 bird species are endemic,” she said. Out of these 34 bird species are migratory birds (Daily Mirror, 24.1.2023)
A Japanese company has agreed to the government to clean and beautify the Colombo Beira Lake for free. The relevant company has expressed this agreement after a discussion between the President’s Senior Advisor on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardena and the company’s representatives held at the President’s Secretariat last week. The work is to be completed within 06 months from the date of commencement of the project and the total cost of the project is 3 million dollars. It is to be received as a grant from the company to the country. This project will be started according to a request made by Gangarama Viharadhikari, Ven. Dr. Kirinde Assaji Thera, to President Ranil Wickramasinghe to clean the Beira Lake as it has become polluted and smelly. The project will start after the related agreements are signed by the first week of February. (Colombo Page, 30.1.2023)
In 2022, from 19,740 road accidents reported in Sri Lanka, 2,371 are fatal accidents, according to the annual data reports of the Police Media Unit. According to data, majority of them serious injuries and deaths have happened due to motorcycle accidents and the number of people who died last year due to all accidents is 2,485. The number of deaths due to motorcycle accidents is 806 and 5,133 have become disabled due to motorcycle accidents. The highest number of accidents have been recorded in the Western province. Police Media Spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police Nihal Thalduwa said that most of the incidents are due to driving or riding at high speed. (Daily News, 30.1.2023)
