News
President wants to get rid of middlemen for the benefit of both producer and consumer
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stressed the need to put in place a mechanism to help both the producer and the consumer by ensuring that commodities are reasonably priced.
The President pointed out that the objective could be realised by creating conditions for farmers to sell their produce without the involvement of middlemen.
He said so during a discussion with the Committee on Cost of Living at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday.
The President and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa focused on strengthening measures to ensure the uninterrupted distribution of essential consumer goods across the country without suffering a shortage.
President Rajapaksa, taking both current living conditions and difficulties associated with COVID-19 pandemic into account, removed the import duties imposed on several essential goods such as dhal, canned fish, onions and sugar on Tuesday (October 13).
The President also instructed officials to take steps to turn uncultivated lands into coconut cultivations. The government has commenced a campaign to plant coconut saplings on 50,000 acres.
Head of the Presidential Task Force for Economic Revival, Basil Rajapaksa noted that a proper strategy was being implemented to produce vegetables, fruits and eggs to meet the consumer demand within the area itself.
The Ministry of Health has studied the daily consumer demand of a household. “We have devised plans to grow vegetables, fruits in home gardens of low income families and fulfill the demand for eggs through domestic poultry farms as a measure to uplift their lives.” Basil Rajapaksa added.
The officials present at the discussion said paddy harvest of the Yala and Maha seasons this year had been favourable compared to the last year. President Rajapaksa highlighted the need for introducing new methods to purchase paddy harvest in the future.
It was also stated during the discussion that a special programme had been planned to transport fruits, vegetables and fertiliser via trains with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Railways.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Ministers Bandula Gunawardane, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Douglas Devananda, State Ministers Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Arundika Fernando, Head of the Presidential Task Force for Economic Revival Basil Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, Secretaries of the Cabinet and State Ministries and the members of the Committee of the Cost of Living were also present at the discussion.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was held today (21) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Admiral Paparo extended his best wishes to President Disanayake and the new government on their planned initiatives. He also acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment.
Furthermore, Admiral Paparo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to strengthening the enduring bilateral ties between the two nations and expressed support for Sri Lanka’s new governmental policies.
President Disanayake conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States in enhancing human resources within Sri Lanka’s defence sector. The President also acknowledged the longstanding support extended by the U.S. in this regard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony C. Nelson of the U.S. Army, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States Indo-Pacific Command David Ranz were also present at the meeting.
SriLankan Airlines has announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London Heathrow), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London Heathrow to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs today [21 March 2025], have been cancelled.
Passengers requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the SriLankan Airlines Customer Centre at 1979 (within Sri Lanka), +94117 77 1979 (international) or +94744 44 1979 (WhatsApp chat) or reach out to their nearest SriLankan Airlines office or their travel agent.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Passengers can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption is nothing compared to the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
[Aljazeera]
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