News

Wheelchair-bound hero seeks assistance

Published

5 years ago

2021/03/31

Staff Sergeant Sarath Kumara like many young men who fought in Sri Lanka’s near 30-year conflict was once hailed a hero.

Wounded, when a heavy calibre bullet entered his abdomen literally through a chink in his body armour, the young man who led an assault on an enemy bunker on 11 May 2009 at Pudumathalan, the last bastion of the Tigers, was left paralysed waist down.

Returning home two years later in a wheelchair to his wife and young daughter in Bibile, Mahiyangana, he set about picking up his life where he had left it aged 19.

At first everything worked out well, with the generous funds provided by the government, he set about completing his house and started a business so he could be independent. A trishaw was leased and modified to give him better mobility and became his lifeline. Equipment was purchased to make `joss-sticks’ and wicks for clay lamps which were sold in nearby villages.

Fortune seemed to smile on the disabled soldier. Business was brisk when he opened a grocery shop at his partially built house.

Advice from a well- meaning friend led to the purchase of a lorry to transport his wares further afield.

Misfortune struck when his wife became ill. The leasing companies were ready to pounce on his possessions and the bills mounted. Unable to see her husband’s desperate efforts at paying off the bills and manage the family, she was mentally affected and attempted suicide.

But Sarath Kumar was not the type to give up. He approached the ‘Ranaviru Seva Authority’ (RVSA) which assisted with the family’s medical needs and the incomplete house. It also helped negotiate with the lessors about the trishaw, his lifeline. The Authority would not give the deeply indebted soldier a grant to pay the lease and burden him with a big loan. The lessors however took the lorry.

Financial assistance to get his then 15-year-old daughter through the `O’ levels and high school education was obtained through private contacts of then Authority Chairman Maj.Gen. (Retd) Janmika Liyanage.

The Covid-19 restrictions virtually brought his business to a halt and the lessors have come calling again. They would take away his lifeline, the trishaw and only economical means of travel for him to the Military Hospital in Colombo for his regular treatment.

Appeals to those in authority have brought no response, he claims. He is now supported by his aged parents.

The once proud soldier who put his life on the line to give his wife and daughter a decent home and life deserved by any Lankan family, today seeks a good Samaritan’s help.

Anyone willing to help the former soldier could be contacted on + 94 786664201. Former journalist who served the Army Panduka Senanayake brought the ex-soldier’s plight to the notice of The Island.

All News Advertisement

Latest News

CEYPETCO Fuel prices increased from midnight today (21)

Published

5 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).

Accordingly,

Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)

Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)

Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)

Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)

Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)

Latest News

Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts

Published

12 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 12.30 p.m. 21 March 2026, valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 21 March 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:

 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.

 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

Published

17 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8.

The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran.

“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring and fuelled fears of a widening conflict.

US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington’s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries as “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.

Amid the turmoil, many countries have refused to get directly involved in the war while calling for urgent de-escalation.

On Friday, Switzerland announced that it would halt any weapons exports to the US that could be used in military operations against Iran, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality.

“The export of war materiel to countries involved ⁠in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict”, the Swiss government said.

Sri Lanka’s president also cited his country’s neutrality in the decision to deny the US request to land the two aircraft at Matalla airport earlier this month.

Dissanayake said he had received another request that same day, on February 26, from Iran to seek permission for three naval vessels to make a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka.

“With two requests before us, the decision was clear,” he said, noting that the government denied both to avoid taking sides as signs of escalating conflict emerged.

“Had we said ‘yes’ to Iran, we would have had to say ‘yes’ to the US, as well”, Dissanayake added.

In early March, Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian crew off IRIS Dena after it was torpedoed by a US submarine off the country’s coast, killing at least 84 people.

Days later, Sri Lanka evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, after the ship requested assistance from Colombo.

[Aljazeera]