News
Sajith raises fresh concerns over toxic pollutants emanating from burning of substandard coal
Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday raised serious concerns over the Government’s importation of substandard coal, warning that its use has resulted in inefficient electricity generation, increased equipment damage and significant financial losses to the State and consumers.
In a video statement, the Opposition Leader said the SJB had exposed details regarding the importation of inferior-quality coal, prompting what he described as an admission by Government representatives that the coal in question was of poor standard.
Premadasa charged that the continued use of such coal has reduced generation efficiency at the Norochcholai Power Station, while increasing the likelihood of damage to critical equipment.
He further claimed that ash content had risen sharply, from the accepted 11–15 percent range, to over 21 percent, doubling the volume of toxic pollutants generated. The disposal of the excess ash, he said, poses additional environmental risks.
The Opposition Leader also noted that a further 15 to 16 coal shipments are expected to arrive within the next two to three months. However, he alleged that the failure to procure high-quality coal has reduced megawatt output, necessitating greater reliance on fuel-powered plants to bridge the shortfall.
“This results in financial losses to the country, the Government, and, ultimately, to electricity consumers,” he said.
Premadasa cited Section 30 of the Electricity Act of 2009, maintaining that consumer tariffs can only be imposed, based on efficient electricity generation. He urged the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka to safeguard the rights of the country’s 7.5 million electricity consumers, insisting that losses stemming from inefficient generation cannot lawfully be passed on to the public.
He further alleged that the Government’s promised “system change” had, instead, resulted in questionable coal procurement deals. The financial losses incurred through, what he termed, corrupt transactions, he argued, could have been channelled into essential public services, such as education, healthcare, poverty relief and support for entrepreneurs.
Premadasa called not for the appointment of a committee of experts, but for a full forensic audit into the transactions surrounding the coal imports.
He stressed that the SJB would continue to stand in defence of electricity consumers and asserted that the President and Cabinet must accept responsibility for the damage allegedly caused to the Norochcholai power plant, which, he described, as a national asset.
In a swift search and rescue (SAR) operation, the Sri Lanka Navy on 22 Jun 2026 rendered assistance to a one-day fishing trawler that had failed to return to its intended destination.
Reportedly, the fishing trawler and its 02 crew members ran into trouble due to adverse weather conditions off the north coast of the island. The rescue mission was launched
immediately following an alert from the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources regarding the overdue trawler.
Responding to the distress call, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Colombo, coordinated the deployment of naval craft for the SAR operation.
During the operation, naval personnel located the distressed trawler and its 02 fishermen in the seas off the Analaitivu Island and they were brought to safety.
Maintaining a round-the-clock vigil, the Sri Lanka Navy, through the coordination of MRCC Colombo, remains constantly prepared to deploy assets and extend vital lifesaving assistance to the naval and fishing communities facing perils within the Sri
Lankan Search and Rescue Region.
The NPP government has not taken a final decision regarding filling of the vacancies in the judiciary.
A group of Opposition MPs, led by SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, on 12 June, requested Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremeratne to take up the issue of judicial vacancies with President Dissanayake. Opposition sources said that there were four vacancies, each in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and the inordinate delay had adversely affected the judiciary.
Government sources indicated that there was no change in the status quo as regards filling of vacancies. Referring to the government proposal to extend the retirement age of judges, authoritative sources said that no final decision had been taken yet.
SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayasekera told The Island that they would raise the issue in Parliament this week.
He said that the deliberate delay in making appointments to superior courts and the move to extend the retirement age couldn’t be taken separately.
The MP noted that the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, the Lawyers’ Collective, the Colombo High Court Lawyers’ Association, Colombo Magistrate’s Court Lawyers’ Association and the Bar Association of Badulla had opposed the government move.
There hadn’t been any public statements in support of the government move, MP Jayasekera said, urging the government to end uncertainty in the judiciary.
by Shamindra Ferdinando
SJB leader Sajith Premadasa has invited the UNP and other political parties to join his party. Premadasa, who is also the leader of the Opposition, has emphasised that the UNP and the SJB could reach a consensus on policies but his party wouldn’t, under any circumstances, accept whatever formula to share positions. Premadasa said so, speaking to the media over the weekend, after meeting the Mahanayaka Thera of the Malwatta Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera.
A statement issued by the Opposition Leader’s Office quoted MP Premadasa as having extended an invitation to all political parties to give up extremist policies and join the SJB.
The SJB leader alleged that the NPP government feared facing elections and that was the reason for the inordinate delay in holding Provincial Council polls. PC polls were last held in 2012, 2013 and 2014, on a staggered basis. Premadasa said that if PC polls were held his party would definitely win the majority of PCs.Premadasa also urged the government to reduce electricity tariffs and fuel prices.
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