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EU Ambassadors visit rural development projects in Central Province

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/6

EU and Member State Ambassadors at the opening of the Business Service Centre in Nuwara Eliya

Colombo, 3 March 2022 – The European Union (EU) and EU Member States Ambassadors resident in Sri Lanka, traveled this week to Nuwara Eliya district in the Central Province for a two-day visit to EU-funded rural development projects, an EU news release said.

During their visit, the EU Ambassadors visited and handed over a number of infrastructure facilities in the region, such as a new Business Service Center in Nuwara Eliya, a renovated tea estate water supply system in Ragala, and a potato seed production unit in Kandapola. All these activities have been developed and funded under the EU programme ‘Support to integrated rural development in the most vulnerable districts of Uva and Central provinces’.

This programme, launched in 2017, was the first major European initiative in the region with approximately LKR 6 billion (EUR 30 million) of grant assistance provided to four districts of Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Badulla and Monaragala located in the Uva and Central Provinces.

“Over the past five years, the EU has partnered with both the Government of Sri Lanka, private sector and civil society organizations to improve the situation of small businesses, provide infrastructure for better health, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation practices, and to strengthen socio-economic service delivery by local authorities, community organizations and the private sector in both provinces,” the release said.

“The EU Ambassadors were informed that over 600 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been supported, out of which over 200 are women-owned. The SME development promotion initiatives have made an impressive impact on income and employment generation, market development, technology development and business skills development, ensuring private sector growth and sustainability. The programme has helped to reduce the barriers women entrepreneurs encounter in accessing finance and other services. Through these efforts over 1,500 jobs have been created, increasing women’s labour force participation.”

During the visit, the group was informed that the EU has assisted in providing safe drinking water to over 35,000 people and renovated water systems and latrines in over 70 schools and 30 villages. This has allowed over 4,000 children access to safe drinking water and improved sanitary facilities in their schools.

EU Ambassador, Denis Chaibi said “Promoting local economic development and social inclusion has been at the heart of our support for years. Since 2014, the EU and its Member States have provided more than EUR 210 million (approximately 48 billion rupees) to improve the quality of life of Sri Lankans, including in the Uva and Central Provinces, which are among the poorest areas in the country. This visit was undertaken in a spirit of Team Europe; my fellow European Ambassadors and I are happy to our long-term assistance bringing positive change to people’s lives.”

As part of the two-day visit, the EU Ambassadors also participated in the opening of the “Thé Kahata” photography exhibition, organized by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, initially supported under the EU-funded project ‘Strengthening the Reconciliation Process in Sri Lanka’ and implemented by GIZ. The exhibition, featuring over 100 photographs of daily life of upcountry Tamil communities, used art as a vehicle to promote dialogue and explore themes such as identity and inequality.

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya extended

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

The landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya by the Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation have been extended till 0600 hrs on 15th February 2026.

Accordingly,
The Level II [AMBER] warnings issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Walapane and Nildandahinna in the Nuwar Eliya district and the
Level I [YELLOW] warning issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara in the Kandy district have been extended.

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 11.30 a.m. 14 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 14 February 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts after 1.00 p.m. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions – PM

Published

22 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a meeting held at Monaragala Royal College to brief education authorities of the Monaragala District on the new education reforms.

Under the new education reforms, Smart Boards will be provided to 132 schools in the Monaragala District as part of the program to equip secondary schools with modern technology. As a symbolic step under this initiative, Smart Boards were presented to 10 secondary schools under the Prime Minister’s patronage. This program is being implemented with the intervention of the Digital Task Force operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also emphasized that a new digital policy, formulated with special attention to child protection, will be introduced in April.

As part of her visit to the Monaragala District on the 13 th of February, the Prime Minister observed the implementation of the new learning methodologies introduced for Grade One under the new education reforms. She visited Kumbukkana Sri Shanmugam Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya in Monaragala to observe the educational activities of Grade One students.

Considering the increase of student numbers and the development of infrastructure facilities, the Prime Minister also approved a proposal submitted by the School Development Society to rename Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya as Monaragala Dharmaraja Maha Vidyalaya.

Teachers briefed the Prime Minister that the new education system, supported by revised workbooks and activity-based learning methods, has proven to be effective, with students participating enthusiastically.

Addressing education officials further at the meeting held at Monaragala Royal College, the Prime Minister stated:

“Although this will not provide a complete solution to the existing teacher vacancies, these examinations can offer considerable relief. According to the Court’s previous determination, the effective date of degree completion had been set as 30.06.2025. However, considering numerous requests and following the cabinet approval we have sought Court’s consent to revise this date. We will act in accordance with the decision granted.

Funds allocated for school infrastructure must be utilized transparently and in line with proper planning, and progress must be reported accordingly. We cannot move forward by dividing ourselves along national, provincial, rural, or urban lines. As education authorities, you must make swift and accurate decisions based on correct data.

Further, discussions are already underway within the Piriven Committee of the Ministry of Education to develop Piriven education and to address the issues faced by Piriven teachers.”

The event was attended by the members of the Maha Sangha, Uva Province Governor Attorney-at-Law Kapila Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce R.M. Jayawardhana, Member of Parliament Ajith Agalakada, Uva Provincial Education Secretary Nihal Gunarathne, and several officials from the education sector.