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Lokuge admits he intervened to have Piliyandala lockdown lifted to protect daily wage earners

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5 years ago

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by Sanath Nanayakkare

Transport Minister Gamini Lokuge, yesterday, said in an interview with Hiru News, that he had influenced the lifting of the lockdown in Piliyandala for the sake of daily-wage earners.

“There has been extensive coverage in the media about this. If the lifting of the isolation of Piliyandala was wrong then it should have been reimposed again,” he said.

When asked whether he had spoken to the Commander of the Army about it, he said, “A superintendent of police who was with me there spoke to the Army Commander subsequent to the discussion we had because he was a responsible figure of the coronavirus task force and an MP couldn’t act on it.”

Asked when health authorities in the area had decided to lockdown the area and the Director General of Health issued instructions to that effect and whether the minister’s intervention meant that there was no ground for that decision, Lokuge said, “There was a flaw in that decision. There are about 200,000 residents in the area. And isolation would have affected their livelihoods. There are so many self-employed people. Tuk-tuk drivers, bus operators, bakery owners, etc., would have been hit hard as a result of that decision,”

Responding to a question on how the lockdown imposed on the morning of 02 May had been lifted on the same evening, he said,” Don’t ask me. Ask the health authorities. I never requested the health authorities to lift it. There was no need for me to do that. My duty was to present the case to them and then it was up to them to analyse the ground situation based on data and make a decision. How can I make such decisions?”

Asked if politicians in other parts of the country had intervened in the same way and influenced to roll back coronavirus travel restrictions, would it have been correct, the Minister said,” It is not brainless people who have been appointed as health authorities. They should know better to tell the politicians whether it can be done.The authorities need to know whether a minister’s order of this nature can be accepted or not.”

The Minister said that he shouldn’t be held responsible for any potential Covid deaths in the area. It has to be handled by the health authorities. I only presented the case and they made the decision to lift the lockdown order. I did my duty as a politician of the area,” he said.

At the time of writing this, it was reported by MOH that the Piliyandala Trade Complex was closed until further notice as 101 Covid-19 cases were detected during random tests.


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Heat Index at ‘Caution level’ in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts

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1 hour ago

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2026/03/26

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of  Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 25 March 2026, valid for 26 March 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry
of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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US dodges question on AKD’s claim SL denied permission for military aircraft to land

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2 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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President

By Shamindra Ferdinando

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Colombo declared that the United States and Sri Lanka maintain a long-standing defence partnership, grounded in transparency, mutual respect, and shared interests.

The official said so in response to The Island query regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent bombshell disclosure, in Parliament, that his government declined to allow the US Air Force to use the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, following the eruption of the latest West Asia war.

We sought views of the US on President Dissanayake’s claim against the backdrop of Sri Lanka being a party to the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) since 2007. Sri Lanka extended the ACSA in 2017, for another 10-year period, and its extension comes up next year.

The President revealed that the US had requested permission to use Mattala, between 04 and 08 March.

Claiming that the request had been made on 26 February, two days before the war began, President Dissanayake said that the US had sought to land two aircraft, carrying eight anti-ship missiles, but that the request had been turned down to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality. The President revealed that the aircraft were to come from a US base in Djibouti.

The US embassy pokesperson explained that questions related to operational movements, including ‘Operation Epic Fury’, should be directed to the Department of War (DOW) in Washington.

Camp Lemonnier is the primary base of operations for US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa. China, too, has its only overseas military base in Djibouti in the vicinity.

Military sources said whatever various interested parties said about US-Sri Lanka relations, the former provided significant intelligence support during last phase of the conflict that enabled the Navy to hunt down floating LTTE arsenals in international waters. Of the eight LTTE vessels sunk, the US backed four hits with specific intelligence, sources said.

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No decrease in remittances from workers due to Gulf conflict, but significant drop in tourist arrivals – CB Governor

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2 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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CBSL Governor

Sri Lanka’s worker remittances had not seen a decrease despite the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Central Bank (CBSL) Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday.

“Based on currently available data, they have not seen a decline in remittances. In fact, according to that we have observed, is a slight increase in remittances in the past few days, ” the Governor said at a media conference held at the Central Bank head office in Colombo.

Governor Weerasinghe also mentioned that he had not seen any reports about Sri Lankans returning to the country from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict.

The Central Bank Governor, however, acknowledged that there had been a decrease in tourist arrivals. He confirmed that tourist arrivals had decreased by around 17 percent due to the current volatile situation in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at the current level of 7.75%, following its latest Monetary Policy Board meeting.

By Hiran H Senewiratne

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