News
Uma Oya project inaugurated
Iranian President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (24) inaugurated the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP).
The Iranian leader arrived in Sri Lanka under tight security via the Mattala International Airport, where he was accorded a warm welcome by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
President Wickremesinghe invited Dr. Raisi though some interested parties are believed to have expressed concern over the move against the rising tensions in West Asia in the wake of tit-for-tat Iranian retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit in April 2008 was the last such by an Iranian President.
The Iranian-funded project would generate 120 MW of additional hydro power to Sri Lanka.
The Uma Oya Project, one of the major development projects in recent times, was initiated in 2007 when Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the President of Iran and Mahinda Rajapaksa was the President of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan then Ambassador to Tehran (2006-2012)
M. M. Zuhair, PC successfully initiated discussions with Iranian authorities for an interest-free oil purchase package on deferred payment terms at the height of the war with the LTTE; another US $ 105 million Rural Electrification project, plus the Uma Oya multi-Purpose Project, initially estimated at US $ 450 Million, all of which were signed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when he visited Tehran on 27/11/2007, and successfully concluded with the Oma Oya being the last to be completed.
Iranian President Dr. Ahmadinejad offered to modernise the oil refinery at Sapugaskanda when he paid a visit to Sri Lanka in 2008 but was not pursued by Sri Lanka following US sanctions imposed for the first time on the Iranian Central Bank with implications for Sri Lankan banks dealing with the Iranian Central Bank.
Iran and Sri Lanka signed five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) yesterday, aimed at further bolstering bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Presidential Secretariat said that the primary objective of the Uma Oya project is to alleviate water scarcity in the southeastern dry region of the country by redirecting an annual average of 145 million cubic meters of excess water from the Uma Oya basin to the Kirindi Oya basin.
As a result of this project, approximately 4,500 hectares of new land and 1,500 hectares of existing agricultural land in the Moneragala District would receive water, the Presidential Secretariat said, adding that Badulla, Moneragala, and Hambantota would benefit from 39 million cubic meters of water for drinking and industrial purposes, while generating and adding 290 GWh of electrical energy annually to the National Grid.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and officials of the Excise Department was held on Tuesday (11) at the Presidential Secretariat.
The discussion focused on addressing the current challenges faced by the Excise Department and achieving this year’s revenue targets.
A key point of the discussion was the integration of the department’s operations with the Inland Revenue Department to enhance efficiency and fairness in tax collection.
Attention was drawn to the efficient and effective regulation of alcohol and other approved intoxicants within the country to support economic growth. This includes increasing state revenue through proper regulation of the alcohol and tobacco industries, facilitating legal revenue generation, enforcing compliance with laws and regulations, implementing strong awareness programs against illegal alcohol, hazardous drugs, and psychoactive substances, preventing health risks associated with unregulated alcohol consumption, and ensuring public safety.
Discussions were held on revenue collection and protection through an effective decision-making and management mechanism in strategic and operational activities.
The necessity of formulating a human resource and technological development plan to enhance the efficiency of the Excise Department was also discussed.
The meeting was attended by Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, Commissioner General of Excise Udaya Kumara Perera, and a group of Excise Department officials.
[PMD]
Sexual assault on female doctor at A’pura hospital
By Norman Palihawadane and Saman Indrajith
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday that the main suspect involved in the alleged rape of a female doctor at the doctors’ quarters of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital had been identified as an Army deserter.
Responding to a question raised by Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, the Minister said that authorities had uncovered many details pertaining to this tragic incident. Five police teams have been deployed to track down and arrest the suspect.
“We have information about the whereabouts of the suspect, and the police believe that the suspect can be taken in soon,” the Minister said.
Opposition Leader Premadasa raised concerns in Parliament, condemning the attack and questioning the safety of female doctors in public hospitals. He urged the government to take immediate action and proposed stricter laws to punish perpetrators of such crimes.
Premadasa said the doctor had faced the situation while she was going to her on-call duty room.
“An outsider is said to have threatened the doctor using a knife. He is then said to have allegedly raped her inside her duty room. Sri Lanka has not heard of such incidents inside a hospital in recent times,” he said.
Premadasa said it is a serious issue for a doctor to be attacked while on duty at a prominent state hospital. He said that it raised questions about the safety of female doctors in government hospitals.
Condemning the incident, the Opposition Leader said even female officers engaged in public service are being inconvenienced and it was a serious problem for the safety of the people.
Urging the government to take strict action regarding this incident, MP Premadasa said the Opposition was ready to support the enactment of the necessary legislation to impose severe punishment on those who commit such barbaric acts.
The incident, which occurred on Monday night (10), sparked outrage, with doctors at the hospital launching a strike, demanding justice.
Doctors at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital were on strike, demanding the immediate arrest of the suspect at the time this edition went to the press.
By Saman Indrajith
Leader of the House and Transport Minister Bimal Ratanayake has acknowledged that those whose land had been taken over by the government for the Ruwanpura Expressway project were still paying rates.
Minister Ratnayake told parliament on Monday (10) that the MPS should help the Divisional Secretariats and Pradeshiya Sabhas to address the issue at hand.
The Minister said so when Colombo District NPP MP Aruna Panagoda asked why people had to pay rates for lands earmarked for acquisition by the state.
The Minister said that the government intended to compensate everyone by the end of this year.
Panagoda said that for the past decade, landowners, whose properties had been earmarked for takeover for the construction of the expressway, had been required to pay rates.
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