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Johnny sees sinister political hand in disruption of online teaching project

Published

4 years ago

2021/08/5

Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando says sinister political elements have disrupted children’s education again.

Speaking to journalists after a progress review meeting at his Ministry yesterday, the Minister said that schools had been closed here following the outbreak of the global pandemic. “The teachers however tried their level best to teach the children by opting for online education. They did so despite many technical and financial challenges. Most of them even spent out of their own pockets to teach the children. We respect and are grateful to those teachers for their dedicated service. But the unions of the three percent party dragged those teachers to the roads for protests and rallies thereby disrupting the online education and putting the future of our children in jeopardy and exposing the lives of those teachers to the deadly virus. This is not the first time that this three percent group has disrupted the education of the children of this country. There are enough instances that they did so. They killed many teachers, shut down the schools and universities, dragged the school children to protests and paved the way for the collapse of education during the 1987-1990 period of terror. They even brought the appellation of land of cannibals to this nation. Their actions created backlogs in university education delaying the education process for years and an entire generation had to suffer as a result.

The President and the Prime Minister have pledged to rectify this 24-year-old issue of salary anomalies in the teaching profession. We have determined that we would not leave it to another government to solve. We have four more years to solve this problem once and for all. Knowing that we would rectify the errors that created salary anomalies, the bankrupt unionists instigate the teachers to take to the streets. The union leaders seem to have the opportunistic plan to show off that the problem would be solved due to their protests and to claim credit for it. However, by opting for this course of action, they not only disrupted the education of children but also put the lives of teachers in danger. The teachers who attend protests to hold up placards in the road and participate in marches violating all health guidelines finally go to their homes carrying the deadly virus with them. By doing so they also put the lives of their family members in danger. Thereby the unionists put the lives of the entire population of 22 million in danger by paving the way for the fourth wave of the pandemic in this country.

“Although we as a nation have been hit hard by the pandemic, we continue to pay the salaries of teachers and other public servants unlike many other countries. We call on the unionists not to hold the future and education of our children to ransom to achieve their narrow political objectives. The dream of every parent is to provide a decent education for their children and I call on the cabal of unionists not to shoot that dream down by the gun called narrow political gains. The most worthwhile thing that the teachers could do at this time is to help restore the education of children. In Russia Lenin once said that the best should be to the children, but our local Stalin is disrupting our children’s education.”

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Navy seize an Indian fishing boat poaching in northern waters

Published

10 hours ago

2026/01/3

Priyan

During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 01 Jan 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended 11 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, off Kovilan of Kareinagar, Jaffna.

The Northern Naval Command spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. In response, naval craft of the Northern Naval Command were deployed to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters off Kovilan.

Meanwhile, compliant boarding made by naval personnel resulted in the seizure of one Indian fishing boat and apprehension of 11 Indian fishermen who continued to engage in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

The seized boat (01) and Indian fishermen (11) were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Myliddy, Jaffna for onward legal proceedings.

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Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

16 hours ago

2026/01/3

Priyan

Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.

The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.

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CEB demands 11.57 percent power tariff hike in first quarter

Published

19 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.

According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.

Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.

The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.

In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.

The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.

The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.

Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.

By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️