News
Kandakadu breakout:13 still at large
By Rathindra Kuruwita
About 13 inmates of the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre, who escaped on Sunday, were still at large, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Maj. Gen. Darshana Hettiarachchi said.
Out of the escapees, 215 taken back into custody had been remanded till 17 November, he said. 14 inmates are in Pulathisipura and Serunuwara Police Stations. Four inmates, who were wounded during the clash, are still in hospital.
Hettiarachchi said addicts undergoing rehabilitation at Kandakadu had been sent there by courts of law.
“There have been clashes in the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre from time to time. The recent clash was over a bucket of water. Some inmates are military deserters. These are the people who tried to break into the armoury. We had to shoot one of them. There are inmates who have tried to kill their mothers. There are armed robbers and those convicted of sexual assaults. We are dealing with people like that,” Hettiarachchi said.
“There were five ex-soldiers at the centre on Sunday, he said. They are those who tried to get hold of weapons.”
“Now, we have a lot of people who are addicted to Ice (methamphetamine). They are very violent. The first few months are a very difficult time for long-term addicts. There are people who try to kill themselves,” he said.
A large number of drug addicts being rehabilitated escaped from Kandakadu on Sunday night, following a clash between two groups of inmates. One group was from Colombo and the other from Galle.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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M/s South Asian Technologies awarded contract to supply vehicle number plates
A new act for National Lotteries Board to be introduced
Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala appointed to the post of Surveyor General
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