News
Preshanthi Navaratnam – Continuing where the parents stopped
Those of us of an advanced age and living in Kollupitiya remember the ministrations of two exceptional human beings both doctors – Doctors A.T and Vimala Navaratnam
They worked every day of the week except on Poya Days. Their consultation rooms were overflowing. The highest and the lowest of the land including diplomats consulted them. To every patient the consultation fee was restricted to three hundred rupees
Even to pay that, the doctors had often to be persuaded with great tact. Medicine, the art of healing, and service were the primary objectives of their lives. There are many accolades and stories related to them. One of them was an honour which the French Government conferred on Dr A.T.Navaratnam when they made him a Chevalier in 1987.
Dr A.T.Navaratnam and his wife Dr Vimala after he was conferred the title of a Chevalier by the French Government in 1987
Preshanthi Navaratnam, Executive Assistant, Department for Education.
For Public, Voluntary and Charitable Service, is their daughter. Sri Lanka can be proud that she has been recognized by Britain with the British Empire Medal (BEM)
BEM is made for achievement contribution of a very ‘hands-on’ service to the community in a local geographical area. This might take the form of sustained commitment in support of very local charitable and/or voluntary activity; or innovative work tht has delivered real impact but that is relatively short (three to four years) in duration.
Presentations of BEMs are made locally.
Preshanthi has worked in the charitable sector as a volunteer over the past 20 years. She has raised money performing concerts to fund charitable organizations in London, Trinidad and Tobago and Sri Lanka. In 2005 she with three other singers started the fund, raising money for a baby scanning unit in Sri Lanka.
During the COVID pandemic she along with many others cooked meals for the homeless and women’s refuges to support and make sure the vulnerable were taken care of during a very uncertain and difficult time. She was also part of the team at the Department for Education who made sure that ministerial and public correspondence was concisely answered on time during this period.
She has conducted well-being sessions and taken care of her team at the department for Education. She has been a very pro-active and productive member of this team since she joined it seven years ago.
She continues to pursue her voluntary work now in the north east since her move there.
Preshanthi is well known in Sri Lankan music circles as an outstanding operatic singer.
Arjuna Hulugalle
The National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC), which is being established under the Presidential Secretariat with the aim of removing administrative and regulatory barriers that exist among government institutions in relation to investment and industry and expediting these processes, will be opened tomorrow (22).
The centre is being established on the President’s initiative with the aim of bringing about a positive transformation in the industrial sector. The centre will provide solutions to issues that arise in dealing with the government machinery when starting and operating a business, while also coordinating with the relevant government institutions to provide the necessary facilities.
The “ViYASA” National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) has been established at Building C-80, Hector Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Colombo 07, and is headed by Senior Additional( Secretary to the President, Seevali Arukgoda.
The centre will be opened under the patronage of Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando and Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti, with the participation of Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
The website https://nbfc.presidentsoffice.gov.lk is also scheduled to be officially launched on the occasion.
President’s Media Division)
Latest News
Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea appointed as Acting President of the Court of Appeal
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Mayadunna Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal.
The appointment has been made as President’s Counsel Nalin Rohantha Abeysuriya, who currently serves as President of the Court of Appeal, will be overseas until the 24th.
Accordingly Judge Mayadunna Corea was sworn in as Acting President of the Court of Appeal before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential secretariat this morning (21).
Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake was also present at the occasion.
(President’s Media Division)
Latest News
President instructs expediting further measures concerning Sivarasa Anojan, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia
A discussion to review the further measures that could be taken regarding Sivarasa Anojan, a young Sri Lankan national who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, was held at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (21), under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The discussion focused on the measures taken to date concerning Sivaraasa Anojan and the further diplomatic and legal steps that could be pursued. Attention was also given to expediting the necessary further measures that could be taken to secure his release.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake instructed officials to continue the necessary diplomatic engagement with the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia and to maintain close and continuous involvement in all further measures concerning the case.
Reaffirming the Government’s continued attention to the safety and welfare of Sri Lankans living and working overseas, the President also stressed the need for the relevant ministries and institutions to work in close coordination and pursue all possible measures that could be taken in connection with the case.
Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih, Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs Muneer Mulaffer, Governor of the Western Province Hanif Yusoof, Secretary – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Aruni Ranaraja, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism were also present at the discussion.
(President’s Media Division)
“ViYASA” National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) to be opened tomorrow (22)
Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea appointed as Acting President of the Court of Appeal
President instructs expediting further measures concerning Sivarasa Anojan, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia
It’s Shafali vs Athapaththu as Sri Lanka seek to stop India juggernaut
Trophy row unlikely to repeat in Japan
Powerful explosions at Syrian army site near Aleppo injure at least four
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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