News
Dullas: 7,000 solar power plants in three years
By Ifham Nizam
The government would complete 7,000 new solar power plants under the village power plant project, Minister of Power, Dullas Alahapperuma said yesterday in Colombo at the launch of the first phase of the project.
The project would add 700 MW to the national grid in three years, he said. “Tenders will be called for the construction of 880 power plants, as the first phase of the project. These power plants will be added to the national grid within a period of seven months. The contribution of solar power to the national grid has been only 417 MW. This project will double that contribution.”
“The concept of a power plant for each village will encourage 7,000 local entrepreneurs and create many new employment opportunities,” he said, noting that he was grateful to State Minister Duminda Dissanayake and other officials who had played a key role in formulating the concept.
“These 7,000 power plants would be set up under a 20-year agreement with the Ceylon Electricity Board.
“Renewable energy is our future. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s vision is to increase the contribution of renewable energy to 70% of the national requirement by 2030.”
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the decision of the Food Policy and Security Committee to maintain the minimum purchasing price of 1 kg of Nadu paddy of prescribed standard at Rs. 120 and to increase the minimum purchasing price of 1 kg of Samba from Rs. 125 to Rs. 130 and the minimum purchasing price of Kiri Samba from Rs. 132 to Rs. 140.
The NPP government has issued a new extraordinary gazette renewing and extending Sri Lanka’s long-standing ban on the LTTE and several Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals, continuing to designate them as “terrorists”.
The gazette, published recently, replaces a previous gazette issued in May 2025 and reaffirmed the proscription of a wide range of Tamil political and advocacy bodies operating around the world, alongside dozens of named individuals. The government alleged both the organisations and individuals listed are involved in “terrorism-related activities”.
The organisations blacklisted by the Sri Lankan government include:
• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
• Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO)
• Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC)
• World Tamil Movement (WTM)
• Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
• World Tamil Relief Fund (WTRF)
• National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT)
• Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO)
While the majority of the designations mirror those contained in the May 2025 gazette, the latest document updates identification details and addresses for a number of individuals and introduces at least one additional organisation to the list. All entries have been reissued under new reference numbers for 2026, though the underlying allegations and framing remain unchanged.
Successive governemnts have maintained a sweeping proscription regime against Tamil diaspora groups and individuals. A ban can make it a criminal offence for Sri Lankan citizens to maintain contact with these organisations or their members, severely restricting political engagement and stifling links between the diaspora and the Tamil homeland.
The original mass listings were introduced in 2014 under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Despite repeated outcry, subsequent governments have continued to uphold and renew the proscription regime, even after the Rajapaksas were voted out of power.
Police yesterday (12) obtained an injunction order from the Kaduwela Magistrate’s court against the protest launched by National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa opposite the Education Ministry, Isurupaya, at Battaramulla.
Police informed Weerawansa of the court order. In line with the court order, the police informed Weerawansa that the road near the Ministry should not be obstructed and that no sound amplification equipment be used while the GCE Advanced Level (A/L) examination is in progress. The examination, put off due to Cyclone Ditwah, recommenced yesterday.
Minimum purchasing price of Samba and Kiri Samba paddy incresed
Showers in the Northern, North-central, Uva, Western, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, North-western and Central provinces and Galle and Matara districts
Govt. extends ban on LTTE
Police obtain court order banning Wimal’s protest
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expresses optimism that Sri Lanka is on the right path to progres
India plans to restore northern regular train services to pre-Ditwah frequencies before traditional New Year 2026
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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