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New wind farm will help save 2,000 mn litres of diesel in 20 years

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By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka would be able to stop burning more than 2,000 million litres of diesel in thermal power generation during the next 20 years thanks to the 100MW Mannar Island Wind Power farm ‘Thambapavani’ to be declared open tomorrow by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Power and Energy Minister Dullas Alhaperuma told the media, yesterday. He added that within the next 20 years by generating electricity from wind power, would also prevent the release of some 5.7 million metric tonnes of carbon into the environment.

The Minister said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had included in his State Policy Statement the use of renewable energy to uplift the economy.

The Wind Farm in Mannar which will have 30 wind turbines along its coastline has been completed with a MW capacity of 3.45 per each tower.

Several key factors had been taken into consideration in the construction of the Thambapavani Wind Power Park in the Mannar District, the Minister said, adding that it was 100% eco-friendly.

 

The Minister said Cabinet approval would be obtained for the construction of six more turbines.

CEB Chairman Eng.Vijitha Herath said that the Mannar  plant would generate 400 Giga Watt Hours (400 million kilo watt hour units – kWh) annually, at Rs. 8 per kWh.

Vestas Asia Pacific (responsible for engineering, procurement and construction and provide the delivery, installation and commissioning of 30 V126 – 3.45 MW wind turbines, and all civil and electrical work including the final main gravity foundation), along with their specialist civil engineering sub-contractor, Access Engineering PLC (responsible for geo-technical investigations and pilling, the construction of the foundation for the wind turbines and the installation of medium voltage cables), had achieved progress amidst the challenging conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chairman said.

The Mannar wind farm will be operated as a semi dispatchable power plant supported with advance wind forecasting system to optimize and control the wind generated electricity to the national grid. This is in addition to the bird detection RADAR system to implement selective shut down of wind turbines to avoid bird collisions, if any.

Funding required for this wind farm and other associated facilities in Mannar and Anuradhapura has been arranged through a loan provided by Asian Development Bank. The project is also supported with a consultancy service contract with COWI AS of Denmark and Warranty Operations and maintenance contract (WOM contract) for the initial three-year period.

 

 



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UNHRC Chief due here: Chagie asks NPP govt. to set the record straight

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Former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of fighting Divisions Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage has said that the government should take tangible measures to thwart interested parties from exploiting forthcoming visit by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to propagate unsubstantiated war crimes accusations.

The Gajaba Regiment veteran said that the National People’s Power (NPP) government could use the top UN official’s visit to make a comprehensive presentation to him.

UN Resident Coordinator in Colombo Marc-André Franche recently announced the top human rights official’s visit. A delegation from Geneva is expected early next week.

Gallage pointed out that various interested parties, both here and abroad, issued statements ahead of the visit. Responding to The Island questions, the outspoken officer pointed out UK born Labour MP Uma Kumaran, a new entrant to UK parliament of Sri Lankan Tamil origin taking up what a section of the media called Sri Lanka’s new mass grave at Chemmani, Jaffna.

Having mentioned the Chemmani mass graves, the parliamentarian has written an open letter to Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy, MP, Kumaran has emphasized the responsibility on the part of the UK government to refer perpetrators of alleged war crimes to the International Criminal Court. “We must remind both lawmakers Lammy and Kumaran that the LTTE maintained its International Secretariat in London even at the time most probably a child suicide cadre blew up former Indian Congress Party leader Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991,” Gallage said.

The British Tamil Forum (BTF), too, has taken it up in an obvious bid to heap pressure on the government ahead of the UN Human Rights chief’s visit. The retired officer laughed at efforts to find fault with Sri Lanka for eradicating terrorism 17 years ago while massive death and destruction was taking place in Gaza, Iran and Israel.

Alleging that successive governments since the end of the war in May 2009 pathetically failed to counter unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, Gallage stressed the NPP’s responsibility to set the record straight.

Commenting on various parties comparing Sri Lanka’s successful war against LTTE terrorists and the Israeli offensives following Hamas raids in southern Israel in early Oct 2023, the former GOC said that they couldn’t be equated under any circumstances. “Ours was an internal conventional military threat that had been created by India in the 80s. We had no option but to neutralize that threat when it threatened to overwhelm the democratically elected government,” the retired officer said. “In other words what we really did was self-defense. That is the truth the likes of MP Kumaran flagrantly exploited to their advantage,” Maj. Gen. Gallage said, challenging the parliamentarian to disclose why and when her parents fled Sri Lanka.

The global community must appreciate the eradication of the LTTE for once and for all as terrorism shouldn’t be allowed to succeed anywhere in the world under any circumstances. The madman who massacred 77 people in Norway, mostly teenagers in two attacks on the same day in 2011 had been influenced by the forcible eviction of the Muslim community from the Northern Province in 1990, Maj. Gen. Gallage said. Those who carried out the suicide attack on guided missile destroyer USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen in Oct 2000 declared they were inspired by Sea Tiger attacks on Sri Lanka Navy.

Instead of protesting the UN Human Rights chief’s visit, Sri Lanka should use the opportunity to highlight how the LTTE’s eradication benefited the country. Ending the despicable practice of forcible conscription of children was one of the significant achievements, the retired infantry officer said. Whatever those who couldn’t stomach Sri Lanka’s victory over the LTTE say in a bid to belittle the war winning armed forces, the truth is the LTTE regarded children as cannon fodder.

“How many lives were saved as a result of our triumph over terrorism 17 years ago,” Gallage asked, urging the Tamil Diaspora and other interested parties to come to terms with the reality. The LTTE couldn’t be resurrected by peddling lies, Maj. Gen. Gallage said, reminding how mega lie about Mannar mass graves and killing captured/surrendered LTTE cadres by lethal injections during the yahapalana rule exploded in their face.

Responding to another question, the ex-field commander said that the combined armed forces could have finished off the LTTE much earlier if they didn’t take the civilian factor into consideration. Referring to Wikileaks revelations, Gallegae said that no less an organization than the ICRC soon after the end of the war admitted that they could have done so but chose to proceed with care and in the process suffered more losses.During 2009 (Jan 1 to May 19) the army lost about 2,400 officers and men.

By Shamindra Ferdinando ✍️

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NPP vows action against Mahinda, Maithri, Ranil, Basil, others over dairy cows

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NPP MP Nihal Galappatthi told Parliament yesterday that several top political figures, including three former Presidents and a number of former Ministers, had been implicated in a USD 110 million cattle import scam.

Galappatthi named former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, and Ranil Wickremesinghe, along with former Ministers Basil Rajapaksa, P. Harrison, Wijith Wijithamuni de Zoysa, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, and Lakshman Wasantha Perera, as being involved in the large-scale fraud.

Galappaththi declared that none of those responsible would be shown leniency.

The MP said the scam involved the importation of aged, non-productive cattle on the pretext of importing dairy cows. The project, which was presented as a means to boost local dairy production, had become a vehicle for massive financial irregularities, Galappatthi said.

by Saman Indrajith ✍️

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As dengue rages in 16 districts authorities to hold National Mosquito Control Week

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The National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) yesterday announced that the health authorities would launch a nationwide mosquito control week from 30 June to 05 July across 16 high-risk districts.

 The campaign had been in response to a surge in mosquito density driven by ongoing southwest monsoon rains, said Dr. Priscilla Samaraweera, Community Specialist at the NDCU, speaking at a press briefing in Colombo.

 “This programme will target 111 Medical Officer of Health (MOH) divisions. Our teams will carry out inspections in vulnerable areas to detect and destroy mosquito breeding sites,” Dr. Samaraweera said. “Red notices will be issued to premises found to be maintaining breeding grounds, and legal action will follow where necessary.”

The move comes amid a concerning rise in dengue cases, with 26,775 infections and 14 related deaths reported so far this year. The Western Province accounts for nearly 45% of the total cases, while high numbers have also been recorded in the Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, and Southern provinces.Dr. Samaraweera confirmed the current year’s first dengue-related child fatality and urged the public to cooperate with disease control efforts to prevent further loss of life.

By Chaminda Silva ✍️

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