News
Jumbos should not be confined to parks – Dr. Jasinghe
Text by PRIYAN DE SILVA
Welcoming panelists and presenters to the International Research Symposium on Biodiversity and sustainable Tourism, held on Friday (23), Secretary to the Ministry of Environment Dr Anil Jasinghe said that elephants should not be confined within wildlife parks; they should be allowed a free range while villages and crops should be protected by electric fencing. He added that the villagers and farmers would protect themselves by maintaining the fences, earn an additional income by providing services to tourists.
Dr Jasinghe said that an elephant roaming in its natural habitat was a gold mine because that was what tourists wanted to see rather than elephants on the road or in zoos.He said that tourists were attracted to Sri Lanka for its natural environment and biodiversity, and questioned whether any tourist
would want to visit a country where environment was polluted and there was a serious loss of biodiversity. He reiterated that biodiversity loss could lead to extinction of fauna, flora and even result in the destruction of eco systems. Over 70 research papers were to be presented at the symposium which was organised jointly by the Ministry of Environment and the University of Colombo.
The keynote address was delivered by Vidya Jothi Emeritus Professor Sarath Kotagama while Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo Senior Professor H D Karunarathne, and Symposium Chair Professor D A C Suranga Silva addressed the morning session.
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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