News

New survey finds country has enough phosphate deposits for 100 years

Published

2 years ago

2021/11/15

By Ifham Nizam

A new survey confirms that the Eppawala phosphate deposit, covering an area of four square kilometers, contains 25 million tonnes of the raw material enough to meet the country’s needs for 100 years.

The new survey was carried out to make effective use of this natural phosphate deposit here to provide phosphate fertiliser for organic agriculture, implemented by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and steps would be taken to submit the report to the Cabinet and Parliament, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said yesterday.

Amaraweera said that the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) had conducted extensive exploration, in response to a court order, on the Eppawala phosphate deposit.

GSMB has completed the extensive research carried out by three teams of geologists. GSMB, the Ministry of Environment as well as the Ministry of Industries contributed to it. GSMB spent Rs. 16 million on the survey.

It has been identified that although there are several phosphate deposits in our country, only the Eppawala phosphate deposit is economically viable. Accordingly, there are two zones in this phosphate deposit, the northern part and the southern part.

The report states that the government has been spending about nine billion rupees annually on the importation of TSP fertiliser. “But we can save this amount through the proper use of this phosphate deposit. Although the heavy metal cadmium is abundant in chemical Triple Super Phosphate fertilizers, the Eppawala phosphate deposit is a natural fertilizer deposit and contains very little Cadmium,” Amaraweera said.

Eighty-five percent of the phosphate in the Eppawala deposit is currently used to mix TSP fertilisers. The natural phosphate fertiliser could also be exported as a value-added product, he said.

All News Advertisement

Foreign News

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dies aged 100

Published

1 hour ago

2023/11/30

Priyan

Henry Kissinger at the State Department's 230th anniversary celebrations in 2019

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at the age 100.

He served as America’s top diplomat and national security adviser during the Nixon and Ford administrations.

In a statement, Kissinger Associates, a political consulting firm he founded, said the German-born former diplomat died at his home in Connecticut but did not give a cause of death.

During his decades long career, Mr Kissinger played a key, and sometimes controversial, role in US foreign and security policy.

Born in Germany in 1973, Kissinger first came to the US in 1938 when his family fled Nazi Germany. He became a US citizen in 1943 and went on to serve three years in the US Army and later in the Counter Intelligence Corps. After earning bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees, he taught international relations at Harvard.

In 1969, then-President Richard Nixon appointed him National Security Adviser, a position which gave him enormous influence over US foreign policy in two administrations.

(BBC)

News

Rupees 1,500 million allocated for ‘Greater Kandy Urban Development Program’ – State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Government

Published

2 hours ago

2023/11/30

Priyan

State Minister for Provincial Council and Local Government Janaka Wakkambura participating in a Press Briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) on Wednesday (29) under the theme ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’, announced that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has allocated Rs. 1,500 million for the “Greater Kandy Urban Development Program” in this year’s budget and that part of the allocation would to be utilized to develop the approach roads to Kandy City.

He also announced that the President had allocated Rs. 1,000 million to develop tourism by enhancing facilities through the involvement of local government bodies.

News

DMT unable to print nearly one million driving licences for want of blank cards

Published

4 hours ago

2023/11/30

Sahan Weerasooriya

Racketeers thrive on illegal printing of DLs

By Shiran Ranasinghe

The Department of Motor Traffic was unable to print about 900,000 driving licences due for want of blank plastic cards, Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic Nishantha Weerasinghe told The Island.

He said his Department was doing its best to solve the problem, which could be sorted out in six months or so.

A senior official on condition of anonymity said the Department now printed about 200 driving licences for those who were going abroad or engaged in essential services.

However, some racketeers were printing about 700 licences illegally, he said.

Rs 5,000 each was charged for issuing illegally printed licences, the official said.

Commenting on the allegations, the Commissioner General of the Department of Motor Traffic said he will investigate the matter if he receives a complaint officially.