News
2,090 kilos of ganja headed to SL seized in Madurai, Thoothukudi districts
In a major haul, Madurai City Police have seized 2,090 kg of ganja near Sattankulam in Thoothu-kudi district, which was being smuggled from Andhra Pradesh since Tuesday night. The narcotic substance was on its way to Sri Lanka, The Hindu has reported.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Madurai North) B.K. Arvind said Madurai City Police were on a hunt for two ganja peddlers, identified as Rajkumar and Jayakumar.Acting on a tip-off, a team of police from Keeraithurai checked vehicles on the Ring Road and intercepted a car. The police team found 40 kg of ganja in the vehicle, and arrested P. Rajkumar (33) of Ellis Nagar.
During interogation, he said that a huge stock of 2,000 kg of ganja was kept in a farm near Sattankulam.The police team, led by Inspector G. Pethuraj, raided the farm and found the contraband kept in a pick-up van.
The police also rounded up five others, identified as K. Sukumaran (27) of Jeeva Nagar, R. Raja (33), P. Sudalaimani (21), M. Maheshkumar (29) and M. Muthuraj (26), all from Thoothukudi.
The police found that Jayakumar made arrangements to bring in the ganja from Andhra Pradesh and was selling it in the coastal areas of Thoothukudi thorugh one Aaron. They wre also trying to smuggle the narcotic substance to Sri Lanka.
The police are on the lookout for Jayakumar and Aaron.Later, the police found a lorry, in which 50 kg of ganja was kept.Besides, the three vehicles, the police also seized eight mobile phones, one modem and ?25,000. They have booked a case under the provisions of the Nacroctics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. – The Hindu
The Pakistan Naval Ship (PNS) Shahjahan which arrived in Colombo on 02nd June 2023 on a two-day official visit, departed the island on 04th June 2023.
By Priyan de Silva
The Election Commission (ECSL) has opposed a move by the government to appoint representatives of the Chairpersons of the Regional Development Committee to monitor local government institutions.
ECSL Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa told The Island that the government had informed the ECSL of its plan to appoint representatives of the Chairpersons of the Regional Development Committee to monitor the local government bodies and the ECSL had decided to write to the Ministry of Local Government opposing the move, he said. A Chairman of a regional development committee ESD a representative of a particular political party and it would be unfair by other parties for such appointments to be made, the EC Chairman said.
Punchihewa said that the administration of local government institutions could be done through Municipal Commissioners and Divisional Secretaries.Many political parties had complained against the government move, he said.
By Saman Indrajith
The JVP would file a fresh application before the Supreme Court against the government for not holding the local council polls, JVP MP Vijitha Herath said yesterday.Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, Herath said that his party had ascertained fresh information by invoking the Right to Information Act about the funds needed for the holding of the elections and his party would file another fundamental rights case against those responsible for conducting elections.
“The LG polls were to be held on 09 March. They were postponed until 25 April, and later they were put off indefinitely. The President appoints Governors to the provinces and the local councils are under them. Now, he says no party commands the support of 50 percent of voters.
Is this reason why he is not holding elections? His claim that there are no funds for elections is not acceptable. The Election Commission (EC) has, in a letter to the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, asked for Rs 1,100 million in installments for conducting local government elections. The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, on 07 March, informed
the EC that the latter’s request had been referred to the Minister of Finance on the same day. But so far the money has not been released. As per a report released by the Treasury, the government revenue was Rs 177,900 million in January this year alone. Of that amount, Rs 156,760 was allocated to government institutions. The Treasury has Rs 21,410 million. In February, the government revenue was at Rs. 271,750 million and of that Rs. 208,620 million was spent. The balance was Rs 63,130 million. In January and February, the Treasury had Rs 84,270 million. These figures have been officially confirmed by a Deputy Treasury Secretary. The EC is seeking only Rs 2,460 million for elections. So, the claim that there is no money for elections is false as per official records. We will submit this information to the Supreme Court when we file a fresh application. We will prove that the government has lied to people,” Herath said.
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