News

‘Country grateful to security forces, but now govt needs to heed warnings of medical experts’

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/13

Chief Opposition Whip Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella yesterday said that the country should be grateful to the security forces for their dedication to reopening the country, but the rulers should also pay heed to the warnings of medical experts.

Speaking to journalists in Colombo yesterday, the chief opposition whip said that he pleaded with the government to impose travel restrictions in Kandy District and the adjacent districts to prevent the Delta variant from entering those areas. “I have spoken with some doctors in the district. Their opinion was that travel restrictions will help ward off the Delta variant in those areas. It seems that the government does not want to heed medical advice and impose travel restrictions. It should at least expedite the process of giving the second dose of the anti-Covid vaccine to the people. A majority of the people in the upcountry areas have received their first dose by this time. Some have fears that they would not get the second dose while others think by the time they get the second dose they would have become victims of the virus. It is natural for people to harbour such fears because the government has its focus only on the Western Province to complete both doses of the vaccine. There are two opinions today. The doctors are calling for lockdowns while the military is calling for keeping the country open. We must admit that it was due to the yeoman services rendered by the security forces personnel that we could reopen the country and we as a nation should be thankful to them for their dedicated service at this hour of need. But the fact remains that many other countries had re-opened only after giving both doses of the vaccine to their people. The government should learn from those examples.”

Kiriella said that the government should go for a lockdown as per the doctors’ advice and take action to reopen it after completing the process of administering the second dose of the vaccine.

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News

Animal Welfare Draft Bill to be Gazetted

Published

16 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.

Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.

Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.

News

Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed

Published

16 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.

It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.

Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.

Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions

• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981

News

Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

17 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.

Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.