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Specialists take their fuel woes to Health Ministry Secretary
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Many medical specialists were finding it difficult to report to work due to severe shortage of fuel, President of the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) Dr. LakKumar Fernando said yesterday.
He said AMS had sent a letter on the difficult issue to Health Ministry Secretary Dr. S.H. Munasinghe on Saturday.
“This is more so in the peripheries where certain cities have not had fuel in their localities for many days. This situation is likely to deteriorate in the coming days,” Dr. Fernando said.
It is not possible for doctors to enter gas stations with special permits when there are so many others in queues. People who have been waiting in queues for hours naturally get angry and tense when preferential treatment is given to anyone, Dr. Fernando said.
“Such situations can lead to public unrest creating further chaos. Along with the multitude of other essential services in our country, we feel that healthcare service providers should also be considered as a high priority regarding access to fuel during this crisis. Therefore, we strongly feel that the responsibility of devising a practical, plausible mechanism to facilitate our members to get a quota of fuel to travel to his/her workplace lies with the Ministry of health. Please consider that it will be a must to provide and ensure an uninterrupted healthcare service throughout the country,” Dr. Fernando said.
The AMS President informed the Health Ministry Secretary that until such a mechanism is established, AMS members will be compelled to inform their respective hospital directors about their inability to attend needy patients physically and to provide telephone or online advice/consultation when required purely due to lack of fuel to report to work.
“Even though this is highly unacceptable in any clinical setting, we don’t see any other practical alternative to this problem in the near future. Further, it is important to note that most of the hospitals in our country have not been able to provide onsite, official accommodation to all specialist medical officers and hence they are compelled to reside away from the hospital,” he said.
The AMS also asked the Secretary to the Ministry of Health to grant them an appointment to discuss this issue.
“This is not an attempt to ‘misuse’ our position but an effort to mitigate a crisis in order to save lives of patients as well as the good name of the national health care delivery system. Failure to address this issue on an urgent basis would compel us to discharge us from clinical responsibilities due to constraints beyond our control. Please treat this matter on an urgent basis,” he said.
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Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern and Uva provinces and showers about 50-75 mm in other areas
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 08 JANUARY 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 08 January 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
The depression over the Bay of Bengal, located to the southeast of Sri Lanka, was centered near latitude 5.3°N and longitude 86.0°E, about 490 km southeast of Pottuvil, at 11:30 p.m. yesterday (07). It is expected to move west-northwestwards and towards the eastern coast of the island during next 24 hours. This system is likely to intensify further into a deep depression during the next 12 hours.
Cloudy skies can be expected over most parts of the island.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Uva, Central and Southern provinces. Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places elsewhere in the Island after 1.00 p.m. Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern and Uva provinces. Fairly Heavy showers about (50 – 75) mm are likely at some places in the other areas of the island.
Strong winds about (50-60) kmph can be expected at times over the Eastern slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota, Gampaha, Colombo and Monaragala districts.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday that information uncovered during ongoing investigations indicated that Pulasthini Mahendran, also known as Sara Jasmine, linked to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, was not dead.
Responding to a question raised by Opposition MP Mujibur Rahuman, the Minister said there was no confirmation that Sara Jasmine was currently in India, despite speculation to that effect. He added that investigators suspected she may have fled the country and stressed that further inquiries were underway to establish her whereabouts.
“If necessary, the government will take steps to obtain a warrant,” Wijepala said, noting that legal action related to the Easter attacks had already been initiated, based on available evidence.
Minister Wijepala said the new government had launched an thorough probe to determine whether a political or other conspiracy had been behind the attacks that killed more than 270 people in 2019. However, he declined to disclose certain details in Parliament, citing the risk of hampering investigations.
Sara Jasmine, Mohammed Hashtun, who bombed St. Sebastian’s Church, in Katuwapitiya, in 2019, was long presumed to have died in a suicide blast in Sainthamaruthu, days after the attacks. Wijepala said attempts by previous administrations to establish her death had failed, with recent reports indicating that DNA tests conducted at the time were inconclusive.
During the debate, MP Rahuman recalled that senior figures, including then-Opposition MP Nalinda Jayatissa, had previously claimed Sara Jasmine was in India. He questioned why authorities had not sought an open warrant for her arrest whether the issue had been raised in talks with Indian officials.
Wijepala, responding on behalf of Deputy Minister of Defence Arun Jayasekara, said the government would not hesitate to pursue legal action, including warrants, if necessary.
By Saman Indrajith
The Chief of the Indian Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday (07). On arrival, the COAS was accorded a Guard of Honour by the Sri Lanka Army.
The Indian HC said that: “He will engage with senior military and civil leadership, including the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Deputy Minister of Defence and the Defence Secretary; and hold detailed discussions on matters of mutual interest, including training cooperation, capacity building and regional security.
During the visit, the COAS will address officers at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) and interact with officers and trainees at the Army War College, Buttala, reflecting India’s strong commitment to defence education and professional military exchanges with Sri Lanka.
General Dwivedi will also pay homage at the IPKF War Memorial, honouring the supreme sacrifice of Indian soldiers.”
General Dwivedi arrived here from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he attended several events during 05 to 06 January.
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Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern and Uva provinces and showers about 50-75 mm in other areas
Easter Sunday attacks: Govt. says wife of Katuwapitiya Church bomber alive
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