News
Railway a ticking COVID-19 bomb, warns Station Masters Union
Earlier precautions only observed in the breach
Train commuters were not transported in keeping with the health guidlines and that might lead to the community spread of COVID-19, Sri Lanka Station Masters’ Union (SLSMU) warned yesterday.
President of the SLSMU, Sumedha Somaratne said that the passengers had been asked to write their name, address, telephone number and national identity card number on a piece of paper and to put it into a box at the railway station. This was not a successful arrangement, Somaratne said.
“Sanitation facilities must be in place at the railway stations and passenger information must be gathered accurately. The government has said the number of passengers should not exceed 75% of the carrying capacity of a compartment. But how do we implement this? Do we count the number of passengers?
There is no way to ascertain the exact information on the number of passengers. This is not practical.”
The SLSMU added that the system of issuing train tickets online, which was implemented during the first wave of the COVID-19, was no longer in operation. Under that system passenger information was systematically stored, Somaratne said.
President of the SLSMU added that the efforts of the President, the Security forces and the health sector to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus would be in vain if the Railway authorities did not follow the online ticketing system.
Kasun Chamara, Secretary of the SLSMU, told The Island that the number of railway passengers could increase in the coming week, and a proper plan should be drawn up to collect passenger information, as the increase of passengers could increase the risk of spreading the virus. (RK)
Members of the South Asian Journalists Forum have gathered at the University of New Delhi for a two day conference themed ‘Peace and Co-operation’.
Journalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are attending the conference hosted by the University of Delhi in collaboration with the India Chapter of SJF, and will deliberate on how the media can act as a catalyst for regional stability and mutual coexsistence.
A tree plantation campaign was also held at the Ghandi Bhawan premises of the University to mark the event and symbolize growing regional ties.
The Sri Lanka delegation is led by President of SJF’s Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.
The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.
These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.
The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.
The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.
Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.
During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.
The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.
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