News

Plight of paddy farmers: No solution in sight

Published

4 years ago

2022/09/22

State Finance Minister Siyambalapitiya, PM Gunawardena and Agriculture Minister Amaraweera meet top management of state banks in Parliament (pic courtesy PM’s Office)

PMB having defaulted on previous loans make banks wary of lending it more

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Amidst protests against the government’s failure to purchase paddy, a meeting called by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Parliament yesterday (21) to resolve the crisis ended inconclusively.

Among those present at the meeting chaired by Premier Gunawardena were State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, who recently alleged state banks were yet to provide the funds required for the purchase of paddy stocks.

Sources said that the government was not in a position to compete with the private sector. The top management of state sector banks had indicated their inability to intervene, sources said, adding that the whole exercise seemed to be in limbo.

Agriculture Minister Amaraweera said that this would be taken up at the Cabinet level. Other sources said that the banks were reluctant to loan money to the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) as the state enterprise owed them massive sums of money from previous borrowings. Sources said that Minister Amaraweera’s bid to secure the Treasury’s intervention in this regard, too, has so far failed.

Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) lawmaker Rohini Kaviratne said that the government action was meant to discourage the farmers. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ruined the agriculture by depriving farmers of fertilizer and agro-chemicals. The MP said that in spite such obstacles, farmers had cultivated substantial acreage but the incumbent government was yet to start buying paddy. “Debt ridden farmers are now at the mercy of private traders,” lawmaker Kaviratne said.

Responding to another query, the Matale District MP said that the crisis could have quite a serious impact on the next paddy season.

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Related Topics:Agriculture Minister Amaraweera Featured PM Gunawardena State Finance Minister Siyambalapitiya

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News

Animal Welfare Draft Bill to be Gazetted

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.

Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.

Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.

News

Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.

It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.

Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.

Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions

• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981

News

Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.

Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.