News

Environmental lawyer warns Lankans to be wary of Indians wanting windfarm in Mannar

Published

3 years ago

2024/03/15

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Research has shown that Mannar is not an area with a high potential for wind-power and Sri Lankans must be wary as to why India’s Adani has chosen this area to develop a wind farm, environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardana says.

Gunawardana said the wind-power project in Mannar can’t be justified on the basis of facts and figures, and therefore the government had started presenting false analogies to confuse people and achieve its objective.

For example, when talking about the proposed Adani wind-power project in Mannar, some writers and journalists without any conscience tell the public that Sri Lankans had to choose between an uninterrupted and cheap supply of electricity and nature, Gunawardana said.

“In 2022, we went without power for over 12 hours. Now, there is uninterrupted power supply, but people can’t pay the bills. The people might think environmentalists are overreacting,” he said.

The Sustainable Energy Authority had prepared a document on wind-power generation, where they had identified areas that had high potential for electricity generation, he said.

“They have identified locations in seven districts as areas with high potential for wind-power generation. Mannar is not one of them. The island of Mannar has areas that have medium and low potential. Shouldn’t a local or foreign company that wants to invest in wind-power choose one of those areas with high potential for wind-power generation? Why is Adani choosing Mannar instead of going to a high potential area?” he asked.

Gunawardana said the government and others pushing for wind-power in Mannar had not explained why Adani was building turbines in a low potential area for wind-power.

The Adani wind-power project had 52 turbines, and the Indian company had asked for 150 hectares to establish them, Gunawardana said. They also wanted 75 hectares for roads.

“Altogether over 225 hectares are earmarked for this project. They want 7.5 acres for one turbine. Do you need that much land to establish a turbine?” Gunawardena asked.

Gunawardana said Mannar was an area suspected to have valuable mineral resources. The environmental impact assessment said that the Sustainable Energy Authority would take over land from the people and hand it over to Adani, he said.

“This is illegal. A state institution can only take over land for a public purpose. Here, the Sustainable Energy Authority is acting like a broker. I don’t think this is legitimate,” Gunawardena said, noting that Adani was planning to sell Sri Lanka a unit of electricity at a price which was 200 to 250 percent higher than that of a unit of electricity produced with wind power in other parts of the world. The country would also have to make the payment in dollars, he said. The government had also agreed to buy wind power from Adani at a fixed price for 25 years, Gunawardena said, adding that due to advances in technology, the cost of renewables was decreasing.

“The government hides all these facts by creating false analogies to undermine and humiliate activists who try to raise public awareness. There are books on suppressing activists and hiding the truth. Many scholars have written PhD thesis on this particular subject. So, the government has a playbook already,” he said.

“The republic of Sri Lanka constitutes the land and the surrounding seas. Once we sell these to foreign companies, people and the government will have no control of the destiny of our country,” he said.

All News Advertisement

Up Next

PM meets Chilaw Bishop

Don't Miss

Sri Lanka to introduce modern multi-day fishing trawler to develop fishing industry

Click to comment

News

Ranawaka accuses govt. of using JVP cadres and police to suppress political opponents

Published

5 hours ago

2026/10/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

… reminds AKD led over 560 protests during Yahapalanaya

Former Yahapalana Minister and United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday (19) alleged that the JVP, which carried out over 560 protests during the 2015-2019 period, was now bent on preventing the Opposition from exercising its democratic right to protest.

Recalling the declaration made by the JVP at the height of the violent protest campaign in July 2022 that it would set the Parliament ablaze, the former parliamentarian lashed out at the JVP-led administration for using the police excessively to curb political opposition. Ranawaka said this while addressing the media at the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office .

Commenting on the protest campaign launched by the Maha Sangha, demanding presidential pardon for General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Ven. Galagotaatte Gnanasara, the ex-Colombo District lawmaker alleged that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake used a combination of police, investigative units and JVP cadres to break up the monks’ protest. The government went to the extent of compelling the JVP/NPP-run Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to deprive the peaceful protesters of basic toilet facilities, he alleged.

The government’s actions proved that only those with prior approval from JVP Pelawatte headquarters could launch protests in Colombo, its suburbs or in the provinces. The police have become a political tool in the hands of the JVP, the ex-Minister said. (SF)

News

Six killed as speeding bulker crashes into vehicles, shop in Akurana

Published

5 hours ago

2026/10/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

By SK Samaranayake

Six people were killed and seven others injured when a speeding bulker lorry carrying cement and concrete ploughed into several vehicles and a shop on the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road at Kurugoda, Akurana, yesterday (19).

Four of the victims, two women and two men, died on the spot in the accident which occurred around 10.30 am, according to Alawathugoda Police.

Police said the bulker, travelling at high speed from the Matale direction, collided with three three-wheelers, two motorcycles and two lorries before veering off the road and crashing into a commercial establishment.

Five of the injured were rushed to the National Hospital of Kandy, where hospital sources said two remained in critical condition.

The bodies of the four victims were placed at the Akurana Hospital, where two others, who suffered minor injuries, were also receiving treatment.

The driver of the bulker was arrested by the Alawathugoda Police Traffic Division and is to be produced before court.

Investigations are being conducted under the supervision of Central Province Senior DIG Lalith Pathinayake.

News

Prof. Peiris, summoned by CIABOC, appeals for Ven. Gnanasara’s release

Published

5 hours ago

2026/10/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

G.L. Peiris

By Shamindra Ferdinando

owledging that there had been an administrative lapse on the part of the President’s Office in 2019 when Maithripala Sirisena granted presidential pardon to Ven. Gnanasara Thera, Convener of Janathawadi Joint Opposition Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday (19) urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to rectify whatever those shortcomings and release the General Secretary of Bodu Bala Sena.

Addressing the media at the former President Ranil Wickrekmesinghe’s Flower Road Office, Prof. Peiris emphasized that it was not fair to hold Ven. Gnanasara accountable for lapse or technical fault of others at the Presidential Secretariat during President Sirisena’s tenure.

Prof. Peiris was flanked by UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena and United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka.

The fresh appeal was made on behalf of Ven. Gnanasara in the wake of President Dissanayake and JVP heavyweight Anura Kumara Dissanayake ruling out fresh presidential pardon for the monk. Minister Lal Kantha declared that the government couldn’t under any circumstances meet the continuing monks’ protest demanding Ven. Gnanasara’s release. President Dissanayake dismissed repeated appeals for Ven. Gnanasara’s release when he addressed the NPP really in Badulla.

Sirisena granted presidential pardon in May 2019 even before he completed a year of his six-year term of rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court during proceedings of the media personality Prageeth Ekneligoda’s 2010 January disappearance in the Homagama Magistrate’s court.

At the onset of the regular weekly briefing, Prof. Peiris said that he would report to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) today (20) morning as requested by the commission. “The CIABOC wanted to record my statement regarding a meeting I chaired at the ministry after the conclusion of the war in 2009 pertaining to an ongoing investigation.”

Commenting further on the imprisonment of Ven. Gnanasara, the former parliamentarian said that President Sirisena intervened following a spate of requests made on behalf of BBS General Secretary by the Mahanayakes, Anunayakes and other Maha Sangha.

The Supreme Court on 10 September, 2026 rescinded the presidential pardon granted in late May 2019.