News

Country’s agro-economic regions will be increasingly affected by extreme weather in coming decades

Published

2 years ago

2024/09/21

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Sri Lanka’s agro-economic regions will be increasingly affected by extreme weather events, leaving the population more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in the coming decade, Eng. Ananda Jayaweera said at a recent event organised by the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL).

“Wet areas will experience more rainfall, while dry zones will expand. The intermediate regions of the country will become hotter, and Sri Lanka’s agro-economic areas will face extreme events such as floods, landslides, and droughts. The temperature changes in these regions will impact plantations and natural resources,” Jayaweera predicted.

He explained that floods, droughts, landslides, and salinity intrusions are common hydro-meteorological disasters faced by Sri Lankans.

Jayaweera also highlighted a significant reduction in the country’s forest cover, which has dropped from 48 percent to 28 percent over the past seven decades. Of this, approximately 24 percent consists of closed canopy natural forests, seven percent are degraded forests, and 13 percent are home gardens.

“This is deeply concerning,” he remarked.

According to Jayaweera, dividing the Sri Lankan map based on the Köppen climate classification system, reveals that the country encompasses nearly all climate zones. The Köppen classification, a widely-used, vegetation-based climate system, was developed by German botanist-climatologist Wladimir Köppen.

The key challenge for engineers in the coming decades, Jayaweera asserted, will be to develop climate-resilient infrastructure. This will require a deep understanding of local challenges, the efficient use of energy and water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining a low carbon footprint.

“We must also conduct climate risk assessments and opportunity analyses. Engineers need to be more diligent in identifying location-specific hazards during the feasibility study phase and building resilient infrastructure. The five pillars of climate resilience are threshold capacity, coping capacity, recovery capacity, adaptive capacity, and transformative capacity,” Jayaweera explained.

He pointed out that burning one litre of gasoline produces approximately 2.3 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide. Jayaweera lamented that environmental concerns were not adequately addressed during the construction of the Southern Highway.

“When it rains, landslides occur, and parts of the road flood. We end up spending significant amounts to rectify these issues,” he said.

Jayaweera emphasised the importance of sustainable development and foresight in engineering, encouraging engineers to consider the long-term impact of their projects. “We need to think about what will happen to a project in 10 years. Anticipation and foresight are crucial.”

He added that compensation costs during the construction of the Southern Highway were the second-highest expense, and the project was built using loans.

An environmental management and monitoring plan should be in place during construction, Jayaweera noted. Implementing such measures could enable Sri Lanka to build better.

He also reminded the audience that Sri Lanka is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with a far more sensitive environment than many other nations. “This is something we need to consider. The Southern Expressway does provide benefits—faster travel, improved fuel efficiency, fewer traffic jams, and reduced pollution. A lot of time is saved,” he said.

However, Jayaweera argued that more could have been done to mitigate the project’s environmental impact. “For instance, the drainage system on the highway channels water to the roadside, but in more developed countries, drainage is collected in ponds before being released into the environment. This can help remove sulphur and carbon from the water. Drainage water also contains tyre sludge, which we must not release directly into the environment. We need to think more carefully about these issues,” he concluded.

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News

Govt. assures UN of readiness to introduce ‘vetting process’ for troops on overseas missions

Published

9 hours ago

2026/04/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Thuyakontha

Defence Secretary (retd.) Air Marshal Sampath Thuyakontha has discussed with UN officials in New York the deployment of Sri Lankan troops in Haiti, under a new UN authorised force, tasked with tackling heavily armed gangs operating in the violence ravaged country.

The UN is in the process of building up a force comprising approximately 5,500 officers and men for deployment in Haiti.

The Sri Lankan delegation included Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN, former Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. The UN has tagged the deployment Gang Suppression Force (GSF).

According to the Defence Ministry, Sri Lanka negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the GSF. Although Sri Lanka has contributed to UN-led missions, the proposed deployment differed due to the nature of the operation, sources told The Island.

The delegation has assured that all personnel, assigned for UN missions, including the proposed GSF deployment in Haiti, would be subjected to a comprehensive screening process, in line with UN standards. War-winning Sri Lanka has declared, in New York, that the country was in the process of developing, what the Defence Ministry here called, National Human Rights Vetting Mechanism in consultation with the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombo.

The US has backed the deployment of Sri Lankan troops under UN command. Various interested parties, over the years, protested against the deployment of Sri Lankan troops on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations.

Thuyakontha has assured that troops would maintain highest standards of discipline during overseas missions. Sri Lanka brought the war here to a successful conclusion in May 2009 against predictions of contrary outcome by so-called experts.

The US and Panama proposed the GSF to replace a Kenya-led multinational force undermined by a lack of funding. Its strength hovered around 1,000, rather than the desired 2,500. The U.N. Security Council authorised the 5,500 strong force on September 30, 2025, with the new power to arrest gang members.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

News

Lawyers cannot be denied right to represent a suspect – Udaya

Published

9 hours ago

2026/04/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sallay

Sallay’s case:

Attorney-at-law Udaya Gammanpila yesterday (27) said a lawyer could not be deprived of his or her right to represent a client.

The former Minister and leader of Pivuthuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Gammanpila said so addressing the media at the party headoffice at Pita Kotte. Gammanpila was responding to recent media reports that he had been prohibited from representing retired State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay. Therefore, there was absolutely no basis for claims that he had been barred from meeting the retired officer, now named the third suspect in the Easter Sunday case, the ex-parliamentarian said.

Gammanpila emphasised that in terms of the Constitution a suspect’s right to be represented by a lawyer was recognised as a fundamental right. The Criminal procedure Code, too, guaranteed the suspect’s right to consult a lawyer, the ex-lawmaker said, pointing out that the Judicial Organisation Act underscored the same.

Declaring that the retired officer’s wife had named him as Sallay’s lawyer in a letter addressed to Director, CID, Gammanpila said that the courts, police and the Attorney General’s Department couldn’t under any circumstances interfere with his right to represent Sallay.

The CID arrested Sallay on 25 February and detained him under Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for a period of 90 days. Sallay has filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal through his lawyers, challenging his arrest and detention by the CID under the PTA.

Former Minister Gammanpila said that even if a Magistrate had the power to prohibit a lawyer from representing a particular suspect, such a course of action couldn’t be resorted to without giving the lawyer concern an opportunity to explain his/her actions.

Declaring that in case of misconduct on the part of a lawyer only the Supreme Court could take disciplinary action, the PHU leader said, adding that he sought a certified copy of the proceedings of the day when a section of the media reported the Magistrate’s declaration of the purported ban. Gammapila said that he was really keen to know what happened during the proceedings on that day.

Sallay served as Director, Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) from 2012 to 2016 and received the appointment as head of SIS following the 2019 presidential election. Sallay held that appointment till early October, 2024.

Gammanpila said that he couldn’t be barred for speaking to the media after meeting Sallay, currently held under PTA, or for authoring a book on the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. According to Gammanpila as long as the suspect had no objections to his lawyer sharing some information with the media it shouldn’t be an issue for Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

News

Police seek Interpol help to probe monks nabbed with narcotics at BIA

Published

9 hours ago

2026/04/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Police investigating the thwarted a bid made by 22 Buddhist monks to smuggle in narcotics, with a street value of Rs 660 mn via BIA, from Thailand, over the weekend, believe the monks who organised the clandestine operation had sent groups of monks to Thailand before.

Sources said that they had brought in narcotics on earlier occasions.

Police have seized the mobile phones used by the suspects and sought INTERPOL assistance.

Earlier, the Negombo Magistrate’s Court remanded those 22 monks, arrested in connection with the largest drug bust in the airport’s history.

The monks were produced before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court and ordered to be held in custody until 02 May, as investigations continue into the alleged smuggling operation and any wider networks involved.

However, other sources said that more than 110 kilogrammes of suspected Kush and Hashish, with an estimated street value exceeding Rs 1.1 billion, had been found, concealed in false-bottoms of their suitcases. The bags reportedly packed with school supplies and sweets are said to have contained over five kilogrammes of narcotics per individual.

The arrests followed a raid by the Police Narcotics Bureau on Saturday night. Investigators have also recovered mobile phone evidence indicating that the group had travelled to Bangkok on 22 April using airline tickets allegedly given by a sponsor. Authorities allege that the suspects were photographed in civilian clothing, while overseas, engaging in activities deemed suspicious.

Police say this marks the first reported instance of a large-scale narcotics operation via the airport involving Buddhist monks. The suspects are young monks from different parts of the country.

By Norman Palihawadana