Heat index Advisory issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre At 4.00 p.m. 24 April 2024, valid for 25 April 2024

Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is expected to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in Northern, North-central, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern, Southern and North-Western provinces and Monaragala district.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED

Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

MP Dayasiri Jayasekera informs House:

By Saman Indrajith

Parliament was yesterday informed that two Indians were recruiting ex-Sri Lankan servicemen to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. SLFP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera said the leading operator had identified himself as a lawyer while his brother called himself a doctor.

They were in touch with ex-servicemen of Sri Lanka and offering them jobs as general camp helpers for either Ukraine or Russia, Jayasekera said. “But once they reach either Russia or Ukraine, they are not rostered for general camp duties; they are made to fight. So, Lankan ex-servicemen end up shooting one another from Russian and Ukrainian sides, the MP said, adding that a Lankan ex-serviceman, by the name of Kusantha Gunawardena had gone missing. He had been recruited as a general camp helper and sent to a Donetsk-region camp identified as BL/Y/41698/NO3.

There he had been deployed to work in a military tank which came under attack by Ukrainian drones , Jayasekera said. Two of his colleagues were killed but Gunawardena survived the attack. “However, there is no more information about this soldier. Now, he is missing,” Jayasekera said.

These ex-servicemen are lured through online and social media advertisements, Jayasekera said. “There are reports that a major is in custody for his involvement in enticing ex-servicemen to fight in Russia. Another former officer’s name, too, has been mentioned regarding this. Each ex-serviceman has been asked to pay Rs 1.8 million each to the racketeers to secure the jobs.

Leader of the House Minister Susil Premajayantha said that the government would respond to the matter soon.

Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that there were several investigations in progress by several agencies, including the police, military as well as the Foreign Ministry. There are reports of Sri Lankan ex-servicemen fighting in the Russian and Ukrainian armies as mercenaries. The police have received information that the recruitments are being conducted by institutions operating as employment agencies. Public Security Minister Tiran Alles would appraise the House of the progress of those investigations on Thursday, Minister Rajapakshe said.

Iranian President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (24) inaugurated the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP).

The Iranian leader arrived in Sri Lanka under tight security via the Mattala International Airport, where he was accorded a warm welcome by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

President Wickremesinghe invited Dr. Raisi though some interested parties are believed to have expressed concern over the move against the rising tensions in West Asia in the wake of tit-for-tat Iranian retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit in April 2008 was the last such by an Iranian President.

The Iranian-funded project would generate 120 MW of additional hydro power to Sri Lanka.

The Uma Oya Project, one of the major development projects in recent times, was initiated in 2007 when Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the President of Iran and Mahinda Rajapaksa was the President of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan then Ambassador to Tehran (2006-2012)

M. M. Zuhair, PC successfully initiated discussions with Iranian authorities for an interest-free oil purchase package on deferred payment terms at the height of the war with the LTTE; another US $ 105 million Rural Electrification project, plus the Uma Oya multi-Purpose Project, initially estimated at US $ 450 Million, all of which were signed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he visited Tehran on 27/11/2007, and successfully concluded with the Oma Oya being the last to be completed.

Iranian President Dr. Ahmadinejad offered to modernise the oil refinery at Sapugaskanda when he paid a visit to Sri Lanka in 2008 but was not pursued by Sri Lanka following US sanctions imposed for the first time on the Iranian Central Bank with implications for Sri Lankan banks dealing with the Iranian Central Bank.

Iran and Sri Lanka signed five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) yesterday, aimed at further bolstering bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Presidential Secretariat said that the primary objective of the Uma Oya project is to alleviate water scarcity in the southeastern dry region of the country by redirecting an annual average of 145 million cubic meters of excess water from the Uma Oya basin to the Kirindi Oya basin.

As a result of this project, approximately 4,500 hectares of new land and 1,500 hectares of existing agricultural land in the Moneragala District would receive water, the Presidential Secretariat said, adding that Badulla, Moneragala, and Hambantota would benefit from 39 million cubic meters of water for drinking and industrial purposes, while generating and adding 290 GWh of electrical energy annually to the National Grid.