By Ajith Perakum Jayasinghe
How well-planned is the government?
Mrs. P.S.M. Charles was sworn in as the Governor of Northern Provincial Council of Sri Lanka yesterday. This is the second appointment given to her by the present regime. Charles was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medicine recently. She is a Grade I administrative service officer. Prince Sarojini Manmatharajah Charles is an ethnic Tamil Catholic, a graduate of Jaffna University. She was the Director-General of Sri Lanka Customs in 2017 and refused to give in to government pressure regarding investigations into 143 suspicious cargo containers. She was removed from the post but re-instated due to civil society pressure.
No discrimination of tourists
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said licenses of the hotels and restaurants which adopt discriminatory practices against local tourists by following a ‘foreigners only’ business policy at their establishments would be revoked in future, if complaints received.
All data on persons under one roof
Meeting with officials from the Ministry of Information & Communications Technology at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa directed the officials to set up a national data centre to collect and store all information such as national identity cards and driving licenses on Sri Lankan citizens.
Only 10,000 students admitted to the government advanced technology institutes annually
State Minister of Technology and Innovations pointed out during an observation tour in Jaffna that only 10,000 students are admitted to the 19 advanced technology institutes run by state and this number will be increased to 30,000 gradually.
Fly to Batticaloa
Industrial Exports, Investment Promotion, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu had offered to extend air connectivity between Indian cities and recently developed Batticaloa international airport.
Gone to dogs
L.D. Kithsiri, Director of Public Health and Veterinary Services, said that the number of deaths due to rabies this year is 26. Rs. 350 million was spent this year to vaccine 250,000 dog-bitten people. Sri Lanka has a dog population of three million, the vast majority of them are stray dogs.
New doze for mosquitoes
Director of National Dengue Control Unit of Sri Lanka Aruna Jayasekara says that a pilot project of dengue control using a natural bacteria called Wolbachia bacteria will be carried out in Colombo and Nugegoda Municipal areas will in February. When Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carry Wolbachia, they reduce the mosquitoes’ ability to transmit viruses like dengue.
No coal, please
Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith demanded the closure of Norochcholai coal power plant, if possible while refraining from starting new coal power ventures. He said this addressing a forum, under the theme, ‘Is coal solution to the energy crisis?’ at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Research Centre in Colombo organized by Centre for Environmental Justice.
Baby death by burns
A one-year-old baby of Nallinakkapuram, Kirimalei of Jaffna succumbed to burn injuries caused by boiled water. The baby dragged the table cloth and the hot water kept by her mother on the table fell on it.
Port worker dies in an accident
A 50 -year-old Sri Lankan sub-contract worker from Kotahena, who was repairing a ship owned by Japanese government tripped, fell into the sea and drowned yesterday.
National one-day finals today
First-class inter-club one-day cricket final organized by Sri Lanka Cricket will be played today at SSC grounds Colombo between NCC captained by Angelo Perera and Chilaw Marians captained by Shehan Jayasuriya.
Major Thisara Perera
Sri Lankan cricketer and former ODI and T-20 captain Thisara Perera has joined Sri Lanka Army as a commissioned officer ranked Brevet Major of Gajaba Regiment. brevet rank is bestowed as a reward for outstanding service without conferring the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. He represented Sri Lanka Army cricket team in the one-day semi-finals held last weekend between Army and NCC and scored 16. Army lost the match to NCC.
