News
Only 50% of private buses on roads today due to fresh diesel crunch
Energy Minister says not to panic as plenty of stocks on the way
Only 50% of private buses will be operational from today (26), Lanka Private Bus Operators Association (LPBOA) head Gemunu Wijeratne said yesterday addressing the media.
Wijeratne said that there seemed to be a diesel shortage in the country. “We have not got adequate amounts of diesel from SLTB depots in the last three days. Most buses in the Southern Province was not operational on Thursday as well. We need a quick response from the government,” he said.
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said that a ship carrying 30,000 tonnes of super diesel had arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday morning and unloading had already commenced.
“Another ship carrying 120,000 tonnes of crude oil will also arrive soon. An auto diesel ship and a petrol ship will also arrive in the coming days. There is no reason to panic,” he said.
SLTB depots had not received diesel in two days, a senior SLTB officer said. They are unable to provide diesel for private buses in adequate quantities because of that, he said. However, the depots are expected to receive diesel today, he said.
Latest News
“Improve the quality of infrastructure and services provided to tourists visiting the country.” – President
President Anura Kumara Disanayake emphasized the necessity of providing high-quality infrastructure and services for tourists visiting Sri Lanka, as the country has gained significant international recognition as an attractive tourist destination.
Accordingly, the President instructed officials to pay special attention to this matter and take necessary actions.
President Disanayake issued these instructions during a discussion held today (17) at the Presidential Secretariat with officials from the Ministry of Tourism.
During the discussion, officials briefed the President on the budgetary allocations designated for the Ministry of Tourism and the projects being implemented under those funds.
With the tourism sector taking a new step forward, Sri Lanka aims to attract three million tourists this year. The discussion also extensively covered the utilization of these budgetary allocations for the development of essential infrastructure to support this goal.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tourism and Foreign Employment Vijitha Herath, Deputy Minister of Tourism Dr. Ruwan Ranasinghe, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Aruni Ranaraja, along with a group of senior officials from the Ministry of Tourism, attended this discussion.
The French Navy Ship PROVENCE arrived at the Port of Colombo on a formal visit on Sunday (16 Mar 25) morning.
She was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with the time-honoured naval traditions.
The 142.20m long Destroyer is Commanded by Captain Lionel SIEGFRIED and manned by a crew of 160 members.
During the stay in the island, crew members of PROVENCE will visit some tourist hotspots in the country and the ship is scheduled to depart the island on 20 Mar.
The Court of Appeal this [17] morning dismissed the writ petition filed by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon, seeking an interim injunction to prevent the execution of the arrest order issued by the Matara Magistrate’s Court against him.
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