News
Cabinet okays proposal for providing solar power to 25,000 low-income families
The Cabinet had approved a proposal to provide solar power to 25,000 low-income households, Minister of Urban Development and Housing and Chief Government Whip, Prasanna Ranatunga, told journalists in Colombo yesterday (15).
The Minister said the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) had selected 11,000 partially completed houses, among 15 housing projects implemented by the NHDA, to provide free solar power under a joint project of the Urban Development and Housing Ministry and the Power and Energy Ministry.
The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing would select the other 14,000 houses, Ranatunga said.
The Minister added that Sri Lanka had plans to produce 648 Gigawatts of electricity per year through renewable energy sources, and the country could save 116.64 million US dollars, currently spent on importing oil annually to generate electricity.
Promoting renewable energy to have a more sustainable energy mix has been declared an important policy goal by the past few governments.
It has been reported that former Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne has been found dead at his residence in Athurugiriya this morning (17)
it is suspected that he may have taken his own life.
A heated argument broke out between Jaffna District MP Archchuna Ramanathan and Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar during the Kilinochchi District Coordination Committee meeting held yesterday (16).
A video footage of the incident shows the MP and the Minister engaging in a heated verbal exchange, following which a physical confrontation appeared to develop when the Minister attempted to grab files reportedly in the possession of MP Ramanathan.
“If you lay a hand on me, I’ll lay a hand on you too… got it?” Ramanathan is heard telling the Minister during the exchange.
Police and officials present at the meeting intervened to prevent the situation from escalating further.
The circumstances that led to the confrontation were not immediately clear.
Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has filed an intervening petition before the Court of Appeal in connection with a petition filed by former head of the State Intelligence Service, Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act over investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The Cardinal has sought permission from the court to make submissions in relation to Sallay’s petition and requested that it be dismissed.
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