News
SF under delusion that he is still Army Chief – SLPP MP
‘Even Vasu is capable of flooring him’
By Saman Indrajith
Badulla District SLPP MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake told Parliament, yesterday, that the SJB Gampaha District MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka was under the delusion that he was still commanding the army.
“He should realise that he is in Parliament. Yesterday, he threatened to take on the entire front row of government ranks single-handedly. We do not need an entire row of members to match him. We could send a single person that is our minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara.
MP Fonseka thinks all those here have passed only Grade Eight. What is wrong with a person with that kind of educational qualification becoming an MP? What about the late Mr. D. S. Senanayake? He was the first prime minister of the country. He had passed only the fifth standard. We have had leaders who had not studied beyond Grade Eight. Didn’t they govern this country well? On the contrary, where is UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was considered educated and intelligent? What has he done? He is not even in this Parliament today. Was he able to govern this country successfully?”
“We know a lot about him and his ways of conduct. When he was the commander of the Army he sent a helicopter to Colombo to fetch two loaves of bread, while denying so many wounded soldiers the chance to be flown to Colombo. He also brought water from the Iyakkachi well in Vettailaikerni to Colombo because that was his favourite drinking water. We know all this”.
MP Dassanayake said that they had come to Parliament with great trust in it. Yet, he said that there were no thugs in the parliament and no room would be spared to turn the Ninth parliament into the same situation as the Eighth parliament.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to the project to provide technological solutions to prevent wild elephants from being hit by trains was signed yesterday (01) afternoon at the President’s Media Centre, under the patronage of Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Coordinated through the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme, the project is being implemented as a public-private partnership, with the Railway Department, the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Forest Conservation Department working together, with full financial support from People’s Bank.
The system consists of three-beam detection, passive infrared (PIR) sensors, automatic temperature sensors and a tamper alarm system to detect animals weighing more than 20 kilogrammes and unauthorised interference. Signal lights (red/yellow/green) installed on either side of the railway tracks, together with a special screen installed inside the locomotive cab, will alert the driver in advance to the exact location of an elephant.
A demonstration test of the system was successfully conducted at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage premises in the presence of the relevant officials, following which a report on the system was prepared.
The system will be implemented as a pilot project from next month at 13 locations where wild elephant accidents are frequent. A newly developed website is also scheduled to be launched to enable the progress of the project to be viewed live.
Additional General Manager of Railways P.D.S.B. Chandrasena, Director General of Wildlife Conservation M.S.L.R.P. Marasinghe, Conservator General of Forests S.C. Palamakuumbura and Chairman of People’s Bank Chandana Guniyangoda signed the relevant MoU. Officials from the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, including Presidential Additional Secretary (Clean Sri Lanka) Engineer S.P.C. Sugeeshwara, as well as senior officials from the Railway Department, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Forest Conservation Department and People’s Bank, were also present.
[President’s Media Division]
The Commissioner General of Examinations has announced that the results of the 2026 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination have been released online, and can be viewed on the department’s official website: www.doenets.lk
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya departed Sri Lanka on Monday, 31 August, to undertake an official visit to Bhutan to participate in the Global Conscious Food Systems Summit, scheduled to be held in Bhutan.
During her visit, Prime Minister Dr Amarasuriya participated in the opening plenary of the Summit on 1 September, where she delivered a keynote address under the theme “Rising to the Moment: Igniting Consciousness to Address the Polycrisis.”
The Prime Minister will also engage in discussions with international leaders and representatives on strengthening cooperation towards sustainable food systems, food security and resilient communities.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
MoU signed for technology to prevent wild elephant-train collisions
Grade 5 scholarship exam results released
Prime Minister participates in Global Conscious Food Systems Summit in Bhutan
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