Sri Lanka Association of NSW Inc President Kalinga Wijeyewardene – Report 2023/24 Ayubowan! Vannakam! Aslam Alaikum! Welcome! In November 2023 when I was elected by you as the President of the Sri Lanka Association, I stated in my inaugural address that I wish to reinvigorate the founding principles of our Association and to go back to our roots. The Association was founded in 1972 as a home for all those of Sri Lankan origin living in New South Wales. It was open to all, irrespective of ethnic origin or religious beliefs and affiliations. It was not limited to Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher or Malay communities or those following Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam or Christianity. In pursuing this vision, the Association under my leadership reached out to all communities and religious groups. For the first time in the history of our Association, we participated in an Iftar event during Ramadan organised by ...
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Hettigoda Industries Clinches Gold at Presidential Environment Awards! Sri Lanka’s leading Ayurvedic company, Hettigoda Industries (Pvt) Ltd., was celebrated at the 2024 Presidential Environment Awards, securing the Gold Award in the Pharmaceutical Products and Personal Care Product Industry category. The prestigious ceremony, held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall last Friday, was graced by the presence of His Excellency Ranil Wickremasinghe, President of Sri Lanka. Lankani Hettigoda, Director of Research & Development at Hettigoda Industries, received the accolade from President Wickremasinghe. This recognition stands as a powerful testament to the company’s unwavering commitment to integrating environmental sustainability into every facet of its operations. “We are incredibly honored to receive this prestigious award,” said Lankani Hettigoda, “Environmental responsibility is not just a value we hold, it’s a core principle that drives our innovations to protect our planet for future generations.” ...
Sri Lanka Association of NSW Inc The 50th Golden Jubilee Winter Ball 2023 – Photos thanks to RoyGrafix The Sri Lanka Association of NSW Inc celebrated its 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee Winter Ball on Saturday the 29th of July at the Ballroom of the Sofitel Wentworth Sydney in grand style in the presence of 300 guests, a veritable who’s who of the Sri Lankan community in Sydney. Messages wishing the Association for the occasion, were received from His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe, The Premier of New South Wales, Hon Chris Minns MP and the Federal Minister for Immigration, Citizenship & Multicultural Affairs Hon Andrew Giles MP. Special Guests who graced the occasion were the Minister for Multicultural affairs, Lands, Property, Business and Sports Hon Stephen Kamper MP representing the Premier of NSW Hon Chris Minns, and Mrs. Chitrangani Wagiswara High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Australia ...
Kotmale Dam and Reservoir. Renamed: Kothmale Gamini Dissanayake Reservoir – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Location of the Dam There are about 30,000 reservoirs in Sri Lanka of which the majority were built from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century. These were mainly constructed in the dry zone area- the Northern and Eastern part of the land an area of about 40,000 sq. kilometers (where almost all the tanks are located), These reservoirs were essential in these areas to collect rainwater from the streams for irrigation purposes. During the present century, such reservoirs with a dam were constructed to collect the streaming water not only for irrigation purposes but with the objective of generating hydropower. Kotmale Dam construction with a view to generating hydropower began in August 1979, and ceremoniously opened in February 1985 and was renamed the Gamini Dissanayake Reservoir on 11 April 2003 following a request by ...
Sri Lanka’s Recovery – By Dr Tilak S Fernando Sri Lanka was in a severe economic catastrophe before the IMF came to a rescue with $2.5 billion. President endeavoured to clear the fuel station queues and people lining up at gas stations for petrol & kerosine. Unfortunately, the opposition parties did not assist the Ranil Wickremasinghe Government. However, credit should go to President Ranil Wickremasinghe for evading a complete collapse of the economy. IMF loan is not a happy occasion to celebrate with a “kiri bath” (a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from rice and Coconut) and crackers. At least, Sri Lankans should treat this as a life-saving move for the country as it serves as a breathing space for Sri Lanka. Bankruptcy Sri Lanka failed to pay the overseas commitments in April 2023, and the nation was declared bankrupt. This was significantly due to reduced expatriate income from $437 million ...
Sri Lanka’s Recovery – By Tilak S Fernando Sri Lanka was in a severe economic catastrophe before the IMF came to a rescue with $2.5 billion in four stages. Unfortunately, the opposition parties did not assist the Ranil Wickremasinghe government. The President endeavoured to clear the fuel station queues and people lining up at gas stations for petrol & kerosine. However, credit should go to President Ranil Wickremasinghe for evading a complete collapse of the economy. IMF loan is not a happy occasion to celebrate with a “kiri bath” and crackers. At least, Sri Lankans should treat this as a life-saving move for the country as it serves as a breathing space for Sri Lanka. Bankruptcy. Sri Lanka failed to pay the overseas commitments in April 2023, and the nation was declared bankrupt. This was significantly due to expatriate income, the reduction from $437 million to $ 259 in the ...
Sri Lanka participated in COP. 27 & current news. – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Website: www.Doctorharold.com SL successfully concludes the second round of talks with creditors: President Ranil Wickremasinghe meets UN Secretary-General President Ranil delivered a direct speech at the sessions. COP27: Sri Lanka proposes the world’s first International Climate Change University ‘Democracy Gold Award’ was awarded to Mr R. Sambandhan Former opposition leader and Member of Parliament Mr R Sambandhan received the ‘Democracy Gold Award’, given only once in a lifetime to a senior political figure who dedicates himself to securing democracy. Thieves broke into the official residence of the Thai ambassador Looming food shortage and farmers’ woes Sri Lankan people in need of emergency aid has doubled – UN COLOMBO (News 1st) – State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said Sri Lanka’s second round of discussions with creditors concluded successfully. The State Minister added that Sri Lanka has ...
The Peril of going to the IMF: Is there an alternative?-by Chandre Dharmawardana Source:Island The forex crisis had forced the government to jettison its initial set of economic managers of the Central bank who looked for home-grown solutions and opposed dealing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The President re-instated a set of managers whose ideas were more orthodox and aligned with the neo-liberal bankers of the West. This “about turn” by Gotabaya Rajapaksa fitted perfectly with the views of his successor Mr. Wickremasinghe. JRJ’s “import and sell” consumer economy Gavin Karunaratne, a retired civil servant of the 1950-1970s era, has published a new booklet entitled “How the IMF’s structural adjustments destroyed Sri Lanka” (Godage Publishers) where he claims that today’s ills are a direct consequence of JR Jayawardena’s IMF-inspired policies. JRJ converted Sri Lanka’s “produce locally to consume and sell” economy of the Sirimavo era, to a post-1977 “import ...
‘A’ (Aragalaya) Day in Sri Lanka. – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Website: www.Doctorharold.com Transcript: 9th July 2022 becomes an epoch-making day in the history of Sri Lanka since getting Independence in 1948 from the British. This video should be preserved in your archives for posterity, as this sort of unique organized event may not be visible in the future in a developing world. Even despite shortages of essential items such as petrol, gas, and food, on the brink of starvation, the youth joined to protest against the governing body, mainly focusing on President Gotabaya and prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe who had no mandate from the people, and was successful through protestation to get rid of them, who brought this country to bankruptcy, over months climaxing success on this day the 9th July. This video reveals a glimpse of the struggle the ‘Aragala’ or struggle group shows to achieve that end. Please ...
News In Sri Lanka – by Dr harold Gunatillake Website: doctorharold.com Transcript: Bringing the most important latest news to your doorstep “If the ongoing protests diminish through fatigue and fail to monitor Wickremasinghe, Lanka’s fall into the abyss will not only be inevitable but extremely painful as well”. Sasanka Perera-Professor of Sociology and Dean of Social Sciences at South Asian University, New Delhi. In his first interview since taking office, Mr Wickremesinghe told the BBC he would ensure families get three meals a day. Appealing to the world for more financial help, he said, “there won’t be a hunger crisis; we will find food”. The new PM described the Sri Lankan economy as “broken”, but he said his message to Sri Lankans was to “be patient; I will bring things back”. Sri Lanka’s political and socio-economic disaster turned into deadly combat between the progovernment thugs with the backing of Mahinda ...
