News
Govt. gives undertaking not to jack up fuel prices for three months
By Saman Indrajith
The government would not increase fuel prices within the next three months, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila told Parliament yesterday.
The Minister said so in response to a question raised by Ratnapura District SJB MP Hesha Withanage.
Fuel prices were last increased in Sept 2019 during the Yahapalana government, the Minister said adding that the incumbent government had not revised the prices since then. The world market fuel prices too had increased as at present yet the government had so far maintained the same prices without change, the minister said.
Minister Gammanpila said the Yahapalana government in 2013 handed over 100 tanks in the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm to India but the incumbent government has started negotiations with India to get most of them back under the purview of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Some of the tanks are managed by the Indian Oil Company.
The Minister said that in one of his recent speeches, he spoke about the Trincomalee Oil Tank farm and one media organization had mistranslated his Sinhala speech to English. The Indian High Commission in Colombo made a clarification on the issue later on. The Indian High Commission explanation further established his standpoint, the Minister said.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
Accepting deposits for Local Authorities Election concludes
At least 12 dead in Honduras plane crash
Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire
-
Foreign News4 days agoSearch continues in Dominican Republic for missing student Sudiksha Konanki
-
Features6 days agoRichard de Zoysa at 67
-
Features3 days agoThe Royal-Thomian and its Timeless Charm
-
News4 days agoDPMC unveils brand-new Bajaj three-wheeler
-
Features3 days ago‘Thomia’: Richard Simon’s Masterpiece
-
Features6 days agoSL Navy helping save kidneys
-
Sports1 day agoSri Lanka to compete against USA, Jamaica in relay finals
-
Features5 days agoWomen’s struggles and men’s unions