Hemantha Bandara Herath was re-elected Basnayake Nilame of the historic Kandy Sri Pattini Devalaya, one of the four main devalayas in Kandy on Friday.

At the election held on Friday (6) at the Kandy District Secretariat under the supervision of Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs Gamini Senarathna, Herath secured 14 votes to defeat rival candidate Priyantha Amunugama by a majority of six votes.

Herath’s name was proposed by Sarath Bandaranayake, the Basnayake Nilame of the Kandy Sri Natha Devalaya.

Amunugama, the Basnayake Nilame of the Lankatilaka Sri Vishnu Devalaya, polled eight votes. Of the 24 eligible voters including Divisional Secretaries and lay custodians of ancient temples and devalayas vested with powers under the Vihara and Devalagam Act, 22 were present and cast their ballots.

Speaking to the media after the result was announced, Herath said he would continue and further strengthen development programmes initiated for the Sri Pattini Devalaya, which is venerated by a large number of devotees. He also thanked those who supported him and voted to enable him to continue his work.

Amunugama said he accepted the verdict with humility and expressed gratitude to those who voted in his favour.

Text and Pic by SK Samaranayake

Vision Care Hearing Solutions marked World Hearing Day with a donation of 40 hearing aids to 22 children, concluding its community outreach campaign under the theme “From Communities to Classrooms – Hearing Care for All Children.”

The award ceremony was held at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute with the participation of parents, children, media personnel and well-wishers.

The campaign, aligned with the global initiative of the World Health Organization, began months earlier through school screening programmes covering more than 15 schools. Over 1,500 children were screened to identify undiagnosed hearing difficulties.

Speaking at the event, representatives of Vision Care Hearing Solutions emphasised that the initiative was part of the company’s long-term corporate social responsibility commitment to ensure hearing care reaches classrooms and supports children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Medical experts highlighted the importance of early detection and proper pediatric hearing technology. The donated devices included advanced hearing aids featuring BrainHearing™ technology, designed to improve speech clarity, noise reduction and auditory development for children.

Children with hearing loss in both ears received bilateral hearing aid fittings to support speech development and academic performance.

The highlight of the ceremony was an emotional address by one of the beneficiary students, who expressed gratitude on behalf of all recipients, reminding the audience that the donation represented not just devices but opportunities for education, confidence and future growth.

Police have instructed all stations to monitor businesses engaged in the import, sale and repair of drones and related spare parts amid concerns over possible threats to national security.In a statement, the Sri Lanka Police said the move follows concerns that unmanned aerial vehicles could be used to gather sensitive security information or potentially facilitate terrorist activities.

Police noted that the import, trade and operation of drones in Sri Lanka must comply with the provisions of the Civil Aviation Act No. 14 of 2010.

Authorities said intelligence had been received indicating that some entities were importing and trading drones and spare parts in ways that could pose risks to national security.

Accordingly, police stations have been directed to pay special attention to businesses importing drones and spare parts, as well as outlets selling such equipment and locations engaged in drone repair work, to ensure compliance with the law.