News
Govt.’s planned buffer stock of rice a pipedream, say millers
The private sector is purchasing paddy at prices higher than the government’s guaranteed rates, meaning the government will be unable to secure the planned buffer stock, according to the President of the All Ceylon Small and Medium Scale Mill Owners’ Association, U. K. Semasinghe. He made these remarks on Thursday during a talk show hosted by Hiru TV.
Semasinghe noted that although the government’s guaranteed price for Nadu was Rs 120 per kilo, the private sector paid Rs. 125. During the programme, the Hiru TV presenter mentioned that Dudley Sirisena, who owns Araliya Mills, had stated that if he purchased a kilogramme of paddy at Rs 120 rupees, he would have to sell a kilo of rice at Rs. 242.
However, Semasinghe explained that if small millers bought paddy at Rs 125 per kilogramme, they could sell a kilo of rice at Rs 225. He added: “In the coming two or three weeks, you will see rice produced by small and medium-scale millers available in the market at prices ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 205 per kilo.”
Meanwhile, former Director of Agriculture K.B. Gunaratne, who also participated in the show, commented that the NPP government lacked the experience, and therefore had failed to formulate an effective strategy to address the issue.
The Trincomalee Magistrate yesterday (14) remanded nine persons, including four Buddhist monks until January 19 for allegedly violating coast conservation laws by placing a Buddha statue at the Trincomalee Bodhiraja Vihara on November 16, 2025.
Police produced all parties connected to the incident before the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court.
Earlier, the Coast Conservation Department lodged a complaint with the police that the placing of the statue was unauthorised. When police officers removed the statue, they faced strong opposition from the Buddhist monks and a group of local residents. Later the statue was brought back by the police.
Civil society activist Keerthi Tennakoon yesterday (14) accused the NPP government of crippling the Right to Information Commission.
Addressing the media at Hotel Nippon, Tennakoon said that Attorney-at-Law Jagath Liyanarachchi recently quit the RTI Commission due to a sinister campaign carried out by the government to curtail the Institution’s freedom by blocking its access to information. Tennakoon addressed the media on behalf of a civil society collective representing independent trade unions.
The former PAFFREL chief pointed out that the NPP had undermined the RTI Act by directing the Presidential Secretariat not to release information in terms of the law passed by Parliament.
Alleging that the RTI Commission had been crippled, Tennakoon said that the failure to appoint an Auditor General and attacks on the Office of the Attorney General by the government and those affiliated with it had created a dangerous situation, he alleged. (SF)
Based on intelligence received by the Sri Lanka Coast Guard seven persons were arrested at Negombo, Panadura, Amblangoda and Weligama areas in possession of 9800 foreign cigarettes during search operations conducted from 5th to 13th January 2026
Officers of the Divisional Crime Detective Bureau, Mount Lavinia, too, have been involved in the operation, a senior official said.
The arrested persons along with the seized cigarettes were handed over to the Negombo, Mount Lavinia, Amblangoda and Weligama Police stations for further investigation and onward legal action.
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