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The water catchment areas in the Kelani River Basin are facing severe environmental problems due to severe degradation, sedimentation in the lower valleys, sand mining, changes in the land use patterns, urbanization, industrialization, pollution of water catchments, and deterioration of water quality.
Taking into consideration the above, it has been identified the necessity of preparing a management plan for the Kelani River Basin comprising of simple and detailed sub- water catchment management plan. There is a possibility to implement the aforementioned plan in collaboration with the related institutions and with the people of the water catchment areas to upgrade water catchment areas.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation to prepare and implement the aforementioned water catchment management plan for the Kelani River Basin within the Medium-Term Budget Framework by utilizing Rs. 250 million allocated under the program ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ during the year 2025 and 2026
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Shanto, Mushfiqur hundreds headline Bangladesh’s day of dominance
The first hour or so of play on the opening day of the Galle Test belonged to Sri Lanka. But after that, it was all Bangladesh as Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim struck centuries during an unbroken stand of 247, to seize control of day one.
By stumps, Shanto was unbeaten on 136 and had Mushfiqur right behind him on 105 not out. Seamer Milan Rathnayake was the most economical of the Sri Lanka bowlers, his 12 overs going for just 19 runs, but the bulk of the overs were bowled by the spin pair of Prabath Jayasuriya and debutant Tharindu Rathnayake. The wickets were split between Asitha Fernando and debutant Tharindu, but once Shanto and Mushfiqur were set, Sri Lanka rarely caused them trouble.
Winning the toss and opting to bat is usually the obvious call in Galle, but this time in particular, with conditions more favourable than usual for batters, Shanto was rightfully chuffed when the toss fell his way. That smile though, had become closer to a grimace when he stood at the non-striker’s end watching a third Bangladeshi batter fall with not even 50 on the board.
When Mushfiqur walked out to join him, Shanto himself had faced just three deliveries; it took him only until his sixth though to show that he would not be cowed by the situation, skipping down the track and smoking one back over Tharindu’s head. That set the tone, if not outright aggression and displayed resolute confidence.
Tharindu had at that point been building up a head of steam. Mominul Haque had gone after him, but the ambidextrous spinner had the last laugh. And prior to that, he had removed opener Shadman Islam. Shanto though, made it a mission to put Tharindu off his rhythm; he would end the morning session having struck at better than run-a-ball against the spinner, and would continue to target him as a release valve of sorts throughout the day. Of Shanto’s 15 boundaries (14 fours and a six), ten came off Tharindu.
Tharindu eventually settled in and brought down his economy rate, but Shanto and Mushfiqur continued steadily on, the run rate always hovering around 3-3.5 an over. The session counters reflected as much – 90, 92 and 110. The last session might have been less, after Sri Lanka began utilising defensive lines for the first hour, but they got tired in the final hour and it allowed Bangladesh to tick along at nearly four an over during that period.
Considering the batter-friendly nature of the pitch, an argument could be made for Bangladesh perhaps having been able to go harder at the Sri Lankan bowlers, but even with the pitch taking less turn on day one than what it has in the past, the conventional wisdom in Galle has been to bat first and long, and Bangladesh are set up to do just that.
Sri Lanka for most of the morning, would not have imagined proceedings ending up like this. The day had begun with a felicitation and a guard of honour for the retiring Angelo Mathews, and then just 4.3 overs into the day’s play, Asitha got one to seam away and catch Anamul Haque’s edge.
Tharindu then added to the celebratory mood, grabbing two wickets in consecutive deliveries (across two overs), a dream start to his Test career. But then things took a turn with the experience of Shanto and Mushfiqur coming into play.
Sri Lanka too were guilty of perhaps over-bowling the debutant when it was clear he was being targeted, while they could also have possibly refrained from pairing him with Milan, who was creating pressure at one end only for it to be alleviated at the other. For instance, it took until an hour after the lunch break for Jayasuriya to be reintroduced, and by that time, both batters had neared fifties.
That said, both Shanto and Mushfiqur batted with clear purpose and it meant that when Sri Lanka erred, they were waiting and ready to capitalise.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 292 for 3 in 90 overs (Monimul Haque 29, Najmul Hossain Shanto 136*, Mushfiqur Rahim 105*, Tharindu Rathnayake 2-124) vs Sri Lanka
[Cricinfo]
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Cabinet nod to obtain additional financial facilities from the world Bank for the General Education Modernization Project (GEM)

The Education Modernization Project (GEM) has been implemented since 2018 with funding of US$ 100 million supplied by the World Bank.
All the project components identified under this project have been implemented and have achieved the expected results. It has been observed that there is the ability to obtain an additional financial facility of US$ 50 million from the funds remaining in other projects to implement several components identified under this project. These additional funds are expected to improve the digital infrastructure of the school relevant to the new educational reforms scheduled for implementation in 2026, enhance the sanitary facilities of the selected 900 schools across all provinces, appraise reformed subjects, and implement professional development programs for teachers.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Prime Minister in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education to reach a consensus with the World Bank to obtain the proposed additional financing.
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