The Sri Lanka Navy assisted to bring a stranded trawler with a foreign tourist couple back to shore safely, on the night of 09 Feb 25. The trawler had been adrift at sea between Delft Island and Kurikadduwan due to an operational failure, without fuel.

The trawler, with a couple of tourists who had visited Delft Island, was en route from Delft to Kurikadduwan Jetty in the evening of 09 Feb, when it came across the failure and began drifting at sea. The distress was noticed by SLNS Wasabha stationed on Delft Island.

Upon further inspection by the Inshore Patrol Craft P 239 belonging to SLNS Wasabha, it was confirmed that the trawler was adrift without fuel. The Navy promptly provided the necessary assistance and safely brought the trawler, along with the tourists, to Kurikadduwan Jetty.

Dr. Krishnamoorthy Subramanian, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), paid a courtesy visit on the Prime Minister, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The meeting focused on key economic matters, including Sri Lanka’s tax policy, the effective management of tax revenue, and measures to enhance public sector efficiency. The Prime Minister also outlined the government’s future development agenda, emphasizing policy initiatives to ensure economic stability and foster sustainable growth.

Dr. P.K.G. Harischandra, Alternate Executive Director of the IMF, also participated in the discussions.

The Sri Lankan delegation included  Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatta, Additional Secretary (Development) to the Prime Minister; Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Dr. C. Amarasekara, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank; Dr. Lasitha R.C. Pathberiya, Additional Director of Economic Research;  Amila J. Wijayawardhana, Senior Economist and Liaison Officer for the IMF Executive Director; Ms. Lashinka Dammullage, Director (Bilateral), Economic Affairs Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and  Samantha Bandara, Director General of the Department of External Resources.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

Aragalaya violence:

Given that Sri Lankan law stipulates that the maximum compensation payable for a completely destroyed house is Rs. 2.5 million, the government must recover any excess payments made to MPs who have lost their properties in May 2022, legal expert Dr. Pratibha Mahanamahewa has said.

Dr. Mahanamahewa said compensation to property damage is paid under the current disaster relief policy, which operates under the Disaster Management Act, enacted in 2005.

Under this policy, the government could pay only Rs. 2.5 million for a destroyed house, he said, calling for an investigation to ascertain how large sums of money had been disbursed to compensate parliamentarians whose homes were set on fire during the protests.

Dr. Mahanamahewa said that the previous government had based compensation on recommendations made by a committee appointed by the then Minister of Public Administration. He stressed the need to scrutinise the criteria and basis on which this Committee made its recommendations. He said that many of the compensated homes had fire insurance policies, and the respective insurance companies had already paid compensation to the affected individuals.

Therefore, he proposed that the excess payments be recovered and returned to the Treasury through a proper mechanism. (RK)