Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya told Parliament on Friday that the NPP government had re-filed 65 cases that had been withdrawn between 2019 and 2024.

Responding to a question from SJB Kalutara District MP Ajith P. Perera, the Prime Minister said a total of 102 cases had been withdrawn by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Attorney General during that period.

She noted that the NPP had pledged during its election campaign to review and re-file cases that had been withdrawn under previous governments for various reasons.

The Prime Minister added that a decision had been made not to re-file 34 of the cases, while the government was still considering re-filing three more.

A person, named Thilini Ranasinghe yesterday, said she had requested information from the Police under the country’s Right to Information law regarding a visit by Lankan police officers to an English university linked to an ongoing case involving a former president.

Addressing the media outside the Police Headquarters in Colombo, Ranasinghe said she had visited the Police to confirm facts related to reports that officers travelled to England in connection with a case involving the imprisonment of Sri Lanka’s eighth executive president.

She added that she had formally requested details about the visit under the Right to Information Act, No. 12 of 2016, seeking information about the number of police officers who travelled to the UK, their identities, the expenses incurred and the outcomes of the visit.

“I am not requesting any sensitive information about the case itself, because it is still ongoing,” Ranasinghe said.

“What I need to know is how much public money was spent and what results were achieved from this visit.”

She said her request was made in her capacity as a citizen and taxpayer and that she expects the relevant authorities to provide the information within 14 days, as required by law.

Responding to questions about her motive, Ranasinghe said the public has a right to know how state funds are used by authorities.

“As citizens and taxpayers, we have the right to know how our money is being spent,” she said.

Asked whether she would take legal action if misuse of funds or other irregularities were revealed, Ranasinghe said she believes the law applies equally to all and plans to address the media again after receiving the requested information and related documents.

“If there has been any wrongdoing, I will file a fundamental rights petition and take the necessary legal steps,” she said.

The case involving the former president remains under legal proceedings, and according to official disclosures in Parliament, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has incurred expenses totaling Rs. 1.27 billion for 23 overseas visits between 2022 and 2024.

These figures were reported by Chief Government Whip Nalinda Jayatissa, who told Parliament that the total covered 23 foreign tours during Wickremesinghe’s tenure, including four in 2022, 14 in 2023 and five in 2024.

Everyone has tasted honey. Sweet, golden, and familiar. But very few have ever had the chance to bite into a honeycomb—the pure, chewy treasure that bees craft from nature’s bounty. Such opportunities are rare today, reserved mostly for children, women, and young people in remote villages. In the past, village bees produced honeycombs in abundance, but now, spotting one on a tree is a rare delight.

In the Kudumiriya area, adjacent to the Sinharaja Forest, we met a man who is changing that—bringing honeycombs back to life and making it accessible to those who rarely get to taste it.

Duminda Kumara, 47, is a professional beekeeper who has turned the forest’s natural abundance into both a livelihood and a labor of love. Kudumiriya, a small village surrounded by lush greenery, sits at the edge of the Sinharaja forest, where flowers bloom year-round. For decades, Duminda has nurtured bees that collect nectar from this extraordinary ecosystem, producing honey known for its medicinal value and rich, unique flavor.

“What I had in mind was simple,” he explains. “I wanted to start a honey business using the forest honey from Sinharaja. I began on a small scale, gradually expanding my hives and creating a small bee community. I’ve been doing this for about 30 years. Because the bees collect nectar from so many different flowers, the honey is highly nutritious and flavourful. Officials have confirmed this.”

For the past decade, Duminda focused on selling honey. But recently, he decided to experiment with honeycombs. Rather than cutting and packing it the conventional way, he lets bees build honeycombs directly inside clean, jam-jar-shaped bottles. The result is a product that is completely natural, ready to eat, and even chewable like gum.

“I started this because children outside the village rarely get to taste honeycomb,” he says. “Some places cut it up and package it, but I prefer to let the bees do it naturally inside the bottles. Then I seal them and send them to market. Tourists can also buy them because the village is near Sinharaja. If there’s a way to sell this product abroad, I can supply it and bring foreign exchange into the country. With proper guidance, I can improve and expand this venture further.”

Duminda’s vision is simple yet ambitious: to give children, urban and rural alike, the rare opportunity to taste pure honeycomb, and to introduce tourists to a product that combines the richness of nature with sustainable village enterprise.

Sinharaja, often called the queen of flowers, provides the nectar that makes this honeycomb truly unique. With his dedication, Duminda Kumara is not only preserving a traditional craft but also creating a product that could delight taste buds far beyond his remote village.

Soon, even city children who have never seen a honeycomb may finally experience its chewy sweetness, directly from the forest to their hands. With support and guidance, there is no doubt that Duminda’s venture could grow into a model for rural innovation, sustainable livelihoods, and natural delicacies from Sri Lanka’s lush heartlands.

Text and Pix by Upendra Priyankara Jathungama ✍️