News
Doctors oppose online sale of booze
The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) and the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) yesterday registered their opposition for a Finance Ministry decision to allow consumers to purchase liquor online through supermarket chains.
In a letter to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister of Finance, SLMA President, Dr. Padma Gunaratne and Prof. Narada Warnasuriya, Chairperson SLMA Expert Committee on Tobacco, Alcohol and Illicit Drugs, have said they are gravely concerned about the reported move to allow the online sales of alcohol.
“We assume that the Department is aware that the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act (NATA) No. 26 of 2006 expressly prohibits advertising alcohol in the internet. Internet sales will also circumvent the age, time and place restrictions mandated for alcohol sales in this country, through the Excise Ordinance and the NATA Act,” they said.
Given below are excerpts of the SLMA letter to the Prime Minister: “The Department of Exercise has put forth many unsubstantiated arguments to support this move; they were previously put forth by the alcohol industry against alcohol control measures in Sri Lanka.
“It causes grave concern that the Deputy Commissioner of Law Enforcement of the Excise Department has claimed that the production and sale of illicit alcohol had gone up within the last two weeks to an extent that warrants the government to bypass the laws of the country and allow the online sales of alcohol.
“Such spokespersons for the department should provide concrete evidence for such claims, including the volumes, locations and the harm caused by such illicit alcohol during the past two weeks. They should also provide evidence on the volumes and where the claimed hoarding and illegal sales (selling previously purchased alcohol at high prices) is taking place.
“We also wish to point out that the primary task of the Excise Department and its spokesperson is enforcing the laws related to alcohol in Sri Lanka, especially the laws on illicit alcohol. If they know the extents and the locations of production and the points of sale so precisely, they should be raiding such locations and prosecuting the perpetrators, rather than issuing press statements helpful to the alcohol industry, and at the same time implying the Department cannot enforce its own mandate.
“You would also agree sir, that the groups that use illegal alcohol is very different from the groups consuming legal alcohol. Very few people who consume legal alcohol will turn to illegal alcohol when there is a scarcity or a price increase.
“The Department of Excise also claims that large amounts of money is lost to the government as tax revenue during this period. This is only one side of the story. Studies in Sri Lanka has shown that the annual economic costs of alcohol far outweighs the tax income. Therefore, each day that alcohol is not sold in Sri Lanka will bring net economic benefits to the government and the people.
Therefore, we earnestly request the government not to provide permission for internet sales of alcohol which will make matters worse for all Sri Lankans already suffering from many hardships due to
Covid-19 pandemic. As it is well known that alcohol use is associated with poverty, violence against
women, injuries, suicides and many illnesses, providing easy access to alcohol will amplify these
problems at a time which is difficult for both the government and the people.”
Meanwhile GMOA President, Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said that he would meet President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today and express the doctors’ opposition to the move, which could undo a lot of good that had been done over the last year, he said.
Protesting Development Officers continued their hunger strike near the Presidential Secretariat, Colombo yesterday (01), for the seventh consecutive day.The protesters, who are members of the Lanka School Development Officers’ Association, are demanding that they be absorbed into the teacher service as they have served as teachers in state-run schools for nearly seven years.
Secretary of the Association, Viraj Manaranga, said the protesters were seeking an urgent meeting with the President. He added that a presidential aide had visited the protest site and offered to arrange for a meeting with the President on 03 Feb., but the union insisted on an earlier date. Manaranga warned that failure to grant a meeting could trigger a massive protest in Colombo today (02).
Four officers participating in the hunger strike have been hospitalised due to deteriorating health, while two more joined the fast on Saturday (31).
In a bid to raise awareness of their grievances, on 30 January a delegation of the All Island Development Officers’ Association visited Most Venerable
Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera, Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter, and subsequently with the Chapter’s Registrar, Ven. Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Thera. The prelates said promises that had been made to them should be fulfilled.
The protest began on 26 January as a satyagraha, after authorities failed to respond to repeated requests to integrate the officers into the teaching service. The escalation into a fast-unto-death underscores the protesters’ frustration over the prolonged delay
by Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon
The long-vacant post of Auditor General would be filled on 03 Feb., after months of controversy and delays, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake said on Friday (31) in Kandy.
The Constitutional Council met at the Parliamentary complex on Friday to discuss the appointment but failed to reach a decision on a suitable candidate. The President had previously proposed four names on four separate occasions, all of which were rejected. The Council is now set to consider the fifth nominee.
The post has remained vacant since April 2025, following the retirement of Chulanta Wickramaratne, who served as the 41st Auditor General. More than 10 months have passed without a permanent appointment.
Sources said a female officer in the Auditor General’s Department has been nominated again, though her previous recommendation was rejected due to some allegations against her.
Meanwhile, senior audit officer Dharmapala Gammanpila, with 31 years of service and the department’s most senior official, has received backing from the Mahanayake Theras of the three Nikayas, the Maha Sangha, and several civil society groups for appointment as the 42nd Auditor General.
Sources noted that the three civil society representatives on the Constitutional Council will play a crucial role in the final decision.
by Chaminda Silva and SK Samaranayake
Two 18-year-old youth were arrested by the Southern Division of the Western Province Crime Division on 31 January for allegedly aiding and abetting two murders carried out in Dehiwala and Kohuwala. ICE (crystal meth) was found in their possession at the time of arrest.
The suspects are residents of Mount Lavinia and Boralesgamuwa, according to the police. They are accused of having helped carry out a murder at a hotel in the Dehiwala Police Division on 9 January, 2026, and an attack on a person travelling in a three-wheeler at Bodhiyawatta, Kohuwala, on 12 December, 2025.
Police said the charges included sending photographs of the victims to a criminal living overseas.
Investigations revealed that the youth had acted under the direction of a criminal known as Sando.
Under the guidance of Janaka Kumara, Director of the Southern Division of the Western Province Crime Division, investigations are being led by Police Inspector Hemanta Kumara, assisted by Sub-Inspectors Prasanna Gunathilaka and Prasanna (40248), and Constables Chaminda (72987), Anil (79598), Kumar (88762), and Senanayake (19363), who are continuing the probe.
by Norman Palihawadane and Chaminda Silva
China executes four more Myanmar mafia members
No decision yet on ICC meeting to discuss Pakistan boycott
Shoulder injury casts doubt over Eshan Malinga’s T20 World Cup
Showers expected in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Western, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Central provinces
Development Officers threaten to intensify their protest
Auditor General to be appointed tomorrow
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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