News
Minister proposes involvement of cooperatives to halt sand mafia
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The Ministry of Environment is planning to involve the cooperative system in mining and distribuion of sand in a bid to end illegal sand mining and bring down the sand prices, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said yesterday.
This was proposed during a meeting the Minister had with officials of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.
“We discussed how to control the price of sand because it was obvious that businessmen are artificially inflating prices. There are also reports of these businessmen mixing high quality sand with other varieties of sand not suitable for construction work. These businessmen also create artificial shortages of sand, the Minister said, adding that three cubes of sand were sold at Manampitiya, a major source of sand, at Rs. 14,000. However, the same quantity was sold in Colombo and other urban areas at around Rs. 65,000, he said.
“Thus, I instructed officials to formulate a plan to address these issues. It was proposed that the cooperative system can be used to tackle most of these issues. As a pilot project, we will create cooperatives of sand miners in six locations in Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa. We will also set up a system to regulate excavation and transport.”
Secretary to the Ministry of Environment Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that despite attempts made to ensure that the vulnerable rural communities enjoyed the benefits of natural resources in their areas, a cabal of regional politicians and businessmen controlled and benefited from those resources. “When I was in the Health Ministry, I thought the pharmaceutical mafia was strong, but now I see that the sand and granite mafia is as strong as that. This mafia controls the price of sand and granite and the prices do not reflect the scarcity of the resources.”
The regional politicians were controlling sand and granite extraction and members of the vulnerable rural communities were employed as labourers. Those regional politicians and businessmen also flouted laws openly, he said.
“For example, machines can’t be used to extract sand from rivers. They can only be used to extract sand from river beds but everyone knows that machines are used to extract sand directly from forests. Our objective is to allow the poor people to benefit from these resources but they are only labourers now”
The economic situation was not good and that members of the vulnerable communities should be allowed to enjoy the resources around them, the Ministry Secretary said.
Dr. Jasinghe said sand like all other resources had to be exploited in a sustainable manner.
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sahyadri which arrived at the Port of Colombo on a formal visit on 04 Apr 25, departed the island today (07 Apr). The Sri Lanka Navy bade customary farewell to the departing ship at the Port of Colombo, following naval traditions.
During the ship’s stay in Colombo, crew members of INS Sahyadri took part in several programmes organized by the Sri Lanka Navy, aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation. In addition, they also explored some tourist attractions in the country. Further, personnel of Sri Lanka Navy had the opportunity to visit INS Sahyadri, gaining insights into her operational capabilities.
Latest News
Advisory for severe lightning issued for Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambanthota district
The Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre has issued an Advisory for Severe Lightning for the Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambanthota district.
The advisory issued at 02.00 p.m. today [07 April 2025] is valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 07 April 2025
The public are warned that thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning are likely to occur at several places in for Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambantota district. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
• Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
• Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
• For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.
The report of the “Census of Population and Housing 2024,” conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics, was officially handed over to President Anura Kumara Disanayake this morning (07) at the Presidential Secretariat.
This preliminary report has been prepared based on island wide data collected between October and December 2024.
The report provides details on Sri Lanka’s population, its growth and the distribution of the population across districts.
The information gathered through the census is vital not only for the government but also for other institutions in formulating policies and development plans essential for the country’s progress. Significantly, for the first time in the history of census-collecting in Sri Lanka, data collection was carried out using tablet computers and user-friendly mobile devices.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Finance & Planning, Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics D.D.G.A. Senevirathne and several other officials.
INS Sahyadri sets sail from Colombo
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