News
Probe reveals Army bought spirits through Excise Dept.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
An investigation by the Excise Department has revealed that the Anuradapura Sathosa outlet has violated a government ban by selling liquor to the Army––the Gajaba Regimental Centre, Saliyapura, Anuradhapura.
The Excise Department, the police and the CWE had found that the Army bought 89 bottles of locally produced spirits, a senior official who supervised the investigations told The Island.
A senior Excise official had personally accompanied Army personnel to the Sathosa supermarket, where the liquor sales took place, the Excise Department sources said.
Social media and a section of the print and electronic media alleged that about 800 bottles had been sold.
Army Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva, who is also the Chief of Defence Staff, the official told The Island that such reports had been published with a malicious intent.
Excise Department sources said that the Army had sought the intervention of the Excise official who subsequently removed the Excise seal placed on Sathosa outlet to facilitate the liquor sales. The official was transferred to a different station.
Had the official sought advice from Colombo, he would have been asked to decide the release of the required stock from a wholesale dealer, sources said. Responding to another query, Excise sources explained that countrywide military camps had been exempted from relevant Excise laws applicable to storing and sale of liquor.
Sources said that those who had loaded spirits to an army vehicle at Anuradhapura CWE asked for eight bottles of liquor and reacted angrily when the Excise official politely turned down their request.
Excise Commissioner Kapila Kumarasinghe, who functions as the Department’s official spokesperson in a statement issued on June 10, assured that an impartial inquiry would be conducted.
Sources said that the Anuradhapura incident had taken new turn against the backdrop of the Excise Department seeking Finance Ministry approval to launch liquor sales online. The President’s Office said that when the matter was brought to the notice of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he immediately blocked the move.
Sources revealed that the possibility of launching an online service to sell liquor had been discussed at the National Security Council chaired by President Rajapaksa. IGP C. D. Wickremaratne has pointed out the increased production of illicit brew due to closure of liquor outlets. President Rajapaksa has expressed surprise at how the matter discussed at the NSC ended up as an Excise Department proposal to the Finance Ministry, sources said.
President Rajapaksa has questioned the need for online liquor sales when the country was to re-open on Monday (21) at 4 am.
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) on Friday said the largest groundwater source discovered in Sri Lanka so far had been identified during tube-well drilling near the Pitabeddara Police Station.
Indrajith Gamage, geologist in charge of the Southern Province, said the source recorded a continuous flow of about 10,000 litres (10 cubic metres) per minute, marking the first instance in the country where a groundwater source of that magnitude had been found.
He noted that the previous largest groundwater source was discovered in the Madhu area, which recorded a flow of about 7,000 litres per minute.
According to the NWSDB, the tube well was drilled following geological studies of rock layers and the identification of underground water through fractures in rock strata using specialised technical instruments.
The Board said steps would be taken to distribute water from the newly discovered source to residents facing shortages in Pitabeddara, Morawaka and surrounding areas.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has formally handed over its historical records to the National Archives Department, entrusting over a century of the nation’s commercial history to the country’s official custodians of heritage.
The archive, spanning from the CCC’s founding in 1839 to 1973, includes correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, ledgers, and publications that chronicle the development of trade, enterprise, and industry in Sri Lanka. Together, the records provide a rare and detailed account of the island’s economic evolution and the role of its business community in shaping national progress.
The Ministry of Defence said on Friday (13) that arrangements had been made to repatriate to Iran the bodies of 84 sailors who died aboard the IRIS Dena, which sank in the southern seas off Sri Lanka.
A special aircraft carrying the bodies departed from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport on Friday, the Ministry said, adding that the repatriation was carried out in coordination with the Embassy of Iran in Sri Lanka.
The remains had been kept in two mobile cold-storage units at the Galle National Hospital before being transported to Mattala by lorry following a court order. Forty-five bodies were moved in the morning, while the remaining 39 were transported later in the day.
Earlier this month, the Iranian naval vessel suffered an incident about 40 nautical miles off Port of Galle while carrying around 180 personnel. Thirty-five rescued sailors were admitted to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, while 84 bodies were subsequently recovered.
Following the incident, Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Iranian vessel had been sunk in international waters by a torpedo fired from a submarine of the United States Navy.
Showers will occur at several places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western and Uva provinces and in Galle, Matara, Mannar and Anuradhapura districts after 2.00 pm.
Lanka discovers largest groundwater source
Lanka’s commercial legacy preserved in National Archives
Bodies of 84 Iranian sailors flown home
Kirsten brings pedigree, but Sri Lanka must fix the system
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