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State Minister Ranasinghe assures farmers using organic fertiliser compensation in event of losses

Published

4 years ago

2021/11/30

Provincial Councils and Local Government State Minister Roshan Ranasinghe speaking at a meeting held at the auditorium of the Polonnaruwa District Secretariat yesterday

Provincial Councils and Local Government State Minister Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday assured that the government would compensate any paddy farmer who suffered losses due to adopting organic fertiliser.

Speaking at a meeting held at the auditorium of the Polonnaruwa District Secretariat, the Minister said that even if the government had not proposed to allocate funds in the Budget proposals for possible losses to paddy farmers using organic fertiliser, funds would be obtained from a supplementary estimate for the purpose.

Ranasinghe said that it was wrong to state that the government shifted from chemical to organic fertiliser abruptly. The government had promised to do so in its election manifesto and people had approved it by giving a two-third majority of votes for that. The UNP too had planned to adopt organic fertilisers in place of chemical fertilisers some 30 years back.

The State Minister said that during the past 30 years all the governments had spent billions of rupees to increase awareness of organic fertilisers among officials and the general public. In addition, there had been numerous projects introduced with the assistance of the World Bank to promote organic cultivation in the country.

Minister Ranasinghe said that there were chemical fertilisers, weedicides and pesticides and there was information that some traders sell them at exorbitant prices. The government would get the Consumer Affairs Authority and police to implement the law against the black marketers.

He said that some farmers had raised concern that nano-nitrogen fertiliser would be washed away owing to the heavy rains, but the government would supply that fertiliser again as it was promised by State Minister of Organic Fertilizer Sashindra Rajapaksa.

The meeting was attended by ministry officials and representatives of the farmers’ associations in the Polonnaruwa District.

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Minister of Health of the Russian Federation attends the Sri Lanka–Russia Medical Forum

Published

2 hours ago

2026/05/5

Priyan

Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, officially visited the Russian House in Colombo to attend the Sri Lanka–Russia Medical Forum, where members of the Sri Lanka Russia Business Council and graduates from the Association of Sri Lankan Graduates from Socialist countries (ASLGSC) attended.

This historic gathering was graced by rectors and representatives from several world-class Russian medical institutions, including Kursk State Medical University, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, and Tver State Medical University, among others.

The forum commenced with an address by Minister Murashko, during which Russian medical graduates in attendance raised pertinent questions regarding medical and pharmaceutical sector opportunities in Sri Lanka.

Levan Dzhagaryan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, together with Madam Maria L. Popova, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Sri Lanka & the Maldives and Director of the Russian House in Colombo, graced the occasion. Both officials expressed strong support for continued collaboration and future initiatives between the two nations.

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Members of Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee Officially Appointed

Published

9 hours ago

2026/05/5

Priyan

The official appointment letters for the members of the newly established “Cricket Transformation Committee” (CTC) were handed over on Monday (04) by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Kumara Gamage.

The following members received their letters of appointment at the Ministry premises:

Sidath Wettimuny
Thushira Radella
Prakash Schaffter
Ms. Avanthi Colombage

The Ministry also noted that veteran cricketers Roshan Mahanama and Kumar Sangakkara, who are key members of the committee, are currently overseas. Their official appointments will be formalised immediately upon their arrival in Sri Lanka.

The Cricket Transformation Committee has been mandated to oversee the administration and drive structural reforms within Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in accordance with the powers vested in the Minister under the Sports Act No. 25 of 1973.