News

ITAK sans EPRLF, TELO and PLOTE confident of securing majority of seats in N&E

Published

1 year ago

2024/11/1

Thilina Walpola

Shanakiyan

…ponders future course of action

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Batticaloa District Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) contestant Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said that they would decide on a future course of action after the conclusion of the parliamentary election.

The former MP said so when The Island asked whether the TNA would consider backing the National People’s Power (NPP) government.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently hinted at the possibility of possible consensus between some Tamil political parties and his government. President Dissanayake had separate meetings with ex-parliamentarians EPDP leader Douglas Devananda and Sivagnanam Shritharan of TNA.

Rasamanickam declared that the ITAK could secure 13 seats, including two National List slots. “Regardless of all sorts of claims and criticism directed at us by political rivals, we are still the dominant party in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

.That’ll be reiterated at the Nov. 14 general election,” Rasamanickam said.

Responding to another query, the outspoken politician said the EPRLF, TELO and PLOTE had quit the ITAK-led Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the ITAK also known as the Federal Party was contesting general election on its own.

According to Rasamanickam when compared with the number of Tamil political parties that had been represented in the last parliament, the number of parties and independent groups contesting in the Northern and Eastern districts was much higher.

In the last parliament, altogether five political parties were represented. The TNA contesting under ITAK symbol ‘House’ secured 10 seats, including one NL slot, EPDP (2), AITC (2) including one NL), TMVP (1) and TMTK (1).

Declaring that they had absolutely no problem in retaining the same number of seats as in the previous parliament, Rasamanickam said the oldest party in that part of the country was aiming 13 seats.

One-time TNA MP Pakkiyaselvam Ariyaenthiran who contested the recently concluded presidential election as an independent candidate was not in the fray at the general election, Rasamanickam said. However, those who backed him at that election were contesting on the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) ticket, Rasamanickam said.

“TELO and PLOTE that represented the TNA in parliament previously are with the DTNA,” Rasamanickam said, adding that their symbol originally belonged to Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). Asked about ex-TNA lawmaker Sivagnanam Shritharan’s status, Rasamanickam said that Shritharan was on their Jaffna district list. Differences over him backing the candidature of Pakkiyaselvam Ariyaenthiran at the presidential election had been resolved, Rasamanickam said, urging the Northern and Eastern electorates to have faith in the ITAK.

Rasamanickam asserted that national parties would find it extremely difficult to win sufficient support among the predominately Tamil speaking electoral divisions (Jaffna, Vanni, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Digamadulla) to make a difference.

Rasamanickam noted that at the last general election, Angajan Ramanathan entered parliament from Jaffna on the SLFP ticket, the only district that party contested under its own symbol. Ramanathan is now contesting under the ‘post box’ symbol.

The SLFP is not in the fray at the parliamentary election.

Two former prominent LTTE personnel are also in the fray in the East. Karuna Amman and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pilleyan, both former lawmakers are contesting the Batticaloa district from different political parties. According to Rasamanickam Chandrakanthan is on the TMVP Batticaloa district list whereas Karuna is contesting on the ticket of a political party registered by ex-MP Chathura Senaratne.

Rasamanickam emphasised on the responsibility on the part of the President and the parliament to address the grievances of the Tamil speaking people.

Referring to the conclusion of the conflict in 2009, Rasamanickam said that those who had been at the helm of political power never made a genuine effort to address the issues. Instead they played politics, the Batticaloa district candidate said, urging the electorate to help build a strong opposition against the backdrop of NPP’s repeated urgings that the parliament be filled by its candidates.

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Noritake Company Limited donates Rs. 20 million to the Government’s disaster relief programme

Published

7 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

Noritake Company Limited of Japan has donated Rs. 20 million to the Government’s disaster relief programme.

The cheque was presented to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya by the Managing Director of Noritake Lanka Porcelain (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Kenji Obara, at the Parliament Complex on 18 December.

Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Chandana Abeyratne, Director and General Manager of Noritake Lanka Porcelain (Pvt) Ltd, Ms. Sujatha Egodagedara, and Assistant General Manager Captain M. M. Athula Rohan Senarath also participated in the event.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division].

Latest News

GovPay Concludes 2025 with Rs. 2 Billion in digital transactions, marking a major milestone in Sri Lanka’s digital transformation

Published

10 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

GovPay, Sri Lanka’s Government Digital Payment Platform concluded the year 2025 by surpassing Rs. 2 billion in total digital transaction value, marking a major milestone in the country’s digital transformation journey. Notably, GovPay doubled its collections from Rs. 1 billion to Rs. 2 billion in just 45 days, reflecting rapid adoption, growing public trust, and strong institutional uptake across the public sector.

Since its official launch on 07 February 2025, GovPay has processed over 69,000 digital transactions, enabling payments for 3,372 government services across 215 government institutions. This accelerated growth underscores the increasing reliance on secure, convenient, and transparent digital payment mechanisms by both citizens and government institutions.

Implemented under the strategic leadership of the Ministry of Digital Economy, the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) in collaboration with LankaPay, GovPay has emerged as a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s national digital public infrastructure. The platform plays a critical role in advancing financial inclusion, improving service efficiency, and strengthening transparency in public service delivery.

A key milestone in 2025 was the launch of the Online Traffic Fine Payment System through GovPay on 10 April 2025. Since its introduction, the system has facilitated over 50,000 digital traffic fine payments, generating more than Rs. 66 million in revenue. The service is currently operational across the Western, Southern, Northern, North Western, and North Central Provinces, including the Southern, Katunayake, and Central Expressways. While the island wide rollout planned for December 2025 was postponed due to adverse weather conditions and disaster-related challenges, ICTA, in coordination with the Sri Lanka Police and with the support of LankaPay, has agreed to complete the nationwide rollout in January 2026, with a landmark launch in the Central Province.

GovPay has continued to expand its reach across local authorities, including Divisional Secretariats, Municipal Councils, Urban Councils, and Pradeshiya Sabhas, significantly enhancing access to government services in citizens’ day-to-day activities. The platform has enabled digital transactions for all local authorities in the Northern Province and all Divisional Secretariats in the Southern Province, with a national target to digitize all local authorities by 2026.

Institutions such as Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka Police, the Department of Technical Education and Training, the University of Moratuwa, and the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board emerged as some of the highest contributors to GovPay in 2025. Strong adoption by the education sector in particular highlights the readiness of younger generations to embrace digital transformation and demonstrates the platform’s scalability and reliability.

Beyond routine government services, GovPay also supported national disaster response efforts. Since 30 November 2025, the platform facilitated digital donations to the Rebuild Sri Lanka Disaster Relief Fund, collecting almost Rs. 14 million across 909 transactions, including contributions from Sri Lankans living abroad, ensuring transparency and ease of contribution during a national emergency.

As GovPay continues to grow, ICTA is working on revamping www.govpay.lk with enhanced features to support institutional onboarding, service management, and reporting capabilities. With Rs. 2 billion in digital collections achieved within its first year of operation and the last Rs. 1 billion reached in just 45 days, GovPay stands as a strong testament to the impact of coordinated digital transformation, reinforcing Sri Lanka’s vision of achieving a USD 15 billion digital economy by 2030.

News

Swift restoration of Religious, Cultural and Archaeological sites damaged by the disaster

Published

10 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

A discussion on the restoration of religious, cultural and archaeological sites affected by Cyclone Ditwah was held on Thursday (18) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, with the participation of the Most Venerable Mahanayaka Theras of the three Chapters and other religious leaders.

Addressing the meeting, the Minister stated that more than one thousand religious, cultural and archaeological sites across the country had sustained damage due to the disaster. He assured that prompt measures would be taken to commence restoration work and reinstate these sites to their original condition without delay.

The Minister further stated that all restoration work is expected to be carried out while preserving the historical and cultural authenticity of the sites, under the guidance of the Most Venerable Maha Sangha and other religious leaders, with the active participation of all relevant stakeholders.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Prince Senadheera, noted that arrangements are currently underway to mobilize the required human resources and financial assistance for the restoration process. He also stated that steps have been initiated to recruit the necessary technical officers on a contractual basis to conduct technical assessments of the affected sites. In addition, plans are in place to involve officials of the Ministry as well as officers of its affiliated institutions in carrying out these restoration activities.

The Secretary to the Ministry further stated that generous financial contributions from donors are currently being received to the fund established under the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs for the reconstruction of damaged religious places of worship.

The meeting also considered continuing the gathering as an interfaith committee to oversee the restoration activities. Accordingly, it was agreed that the progress of construction work would be regularly reported to the committee and that the committee would be entrusted with mobilizing support for the fund in a transparent manner, including assistance from foreign donors, international organizations, Buddhist organizations and other religious institutions.

It was noted that the Central Cultural Fund has identified eight sites that were severely damaged by the disaster and are difficult to restore through conventional construction methods, requiring the specialized expertise of archaeologists, mural conservation specialists, and architects. The cost of restoring these sites has been estimated at over Rs. 500 million.

It was further decided that the committee would meet once a month to review and discuss the progress of these restoration activities.

Religious leaders commended the Government’s intervention in providing relief to those affected by the disaster and in restoring livelihoods, expressing appreciation for the effective management of the response. They also praised the Government’s prompt action in initiating restoration work at damaged religious sites.

The event was attended by several eminent religious leaders, including the Registrar of the Asgiri Maha Viharaya, Venerable Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Nayaka Thero; the Registrar General of the Amarapura Siri Saddhammawansa Maha Nikaya, Venerable Balapitiye Siri Seevali Nayaka Thero; the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya, Venerable Attangane Sasanarathana Nayaka Thero; the Chief Secretary of the All-Ceylon Shasanarakshaka Board, Venerable Professor Mugunuwela Anuruddha Nayaka Thero; and the Tri-Nikaya Maha Sangha, led by the Chairman of the National Bhikkhu Front, Venerable Wakamulle Uditha Thero.

Also in attendance were Hindu religious leaders, including Venerable Swami Aksharatmananda, representatives of the Catholic Church and the National Christian Council, including Father Alec Roy Samantha Fernando, All-Ceylon Muslim religious leaders, including the General Secretary of the Jamiatul Ulama Organization, Ash-Sheikh Arkam Nooramith, Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs, Mohamed Muneer , as well as senior officials of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and relevant line institutions.