News

Ruination of last Maha cultivation: Farmers not paid compensation at all

Published

4 years ago

2022/06/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

India on behalf of Sri Lanka placed order for urea from Oman

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Agriculture, Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation Minister Mahinda Amaraweera on Monday (20) admitted that contrary to repeated assurances given by the government, those who suffered crop losses due to the disastrous decision to ban urea and agro chemicals had not been paid a cent.

The SLFPer said that required funds hadn’t been allocated, though a Cabinet paper was submitted in that regard. The Hambantota district lawmaker declared that the government lacked the wherewithal to compensate the farmers.

Co-Cabinet spokesman Amaraweera made the revelation on the Hiru Salakuna programme. Responding to a three-member panel comprising Chamuditha amarawickrema, Madushan Silva and Kalindu Vithanage, MP Amaraweera estimated that the government required Rs 15,000 mn to sufficiently compensate the farmers.

The minister essentially denied personal responsibility for the failure on the part of the government to compensate farmers as that particular assurance hadn’t been given by him.

The interviewers reminded the minister he couldn’t take that stand as he too was a member of the same government.

Minister Amaraweera indicated that the farmers were very much unlikely to receive compensation for crop losses experienced during the Maha season.

Lawmaker Amaraweera acknowledged that the overnight declaration of mandatory carbonic agriculture policy was their primary blunder. The minister explained that the farmers never demanded compensation. They asked for fertilizer, water and other requirements. But instead, the government offered compensation though the promise was not met, MP Amaraweera said.

Mahinda Amaraweera received ministerial appointment on May 23 following the dissolution of the Cabinet-of-Ministers with the resignation of Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa close on the heels of May 09 violence.

Minister Amaraweera said that the government hadn’t been able to procure urea though the ban was lifted in last November. Therefore, India’s assistance had been sought, Minister Amaraweera said, revealing that Sri Lanka would receive 65,000 metric tons of urea ordered by India from Oman. The minister contradicted previous government statement that India would provide urea to Sri Lanka in spite of a ban on fertilizer exports. Responding to questions, MP Amaraweera said that Sri Lanka’s order for urea, too, had been placed by India. Asked whether the Indian quality stands in respect Omani urea would be compatible with Sri Lanka’s soil, Minister Amaraweera said that in spite of concerns raised in some quarters he was quite confident there wouldn’t be any issue at all.

The payment for the urea would be made via the Indian credit line, the Minister said. The SLFPer dismissed concerns raised by the panel of journalists as regards the suitability of the shipment scheduled to arrive in Colombo on July 06.The Hiru panel asked the minister whether the government had forgotten the circumstances leading to Sri Lanka being compelled to compensate a Chinese state company to the tune of USD 6.7 mn in spite of China supplied carbonic fertilizer failing quality testing.

Minister Amaraweera denied accusations that he interfered with the quality control process relating to the planned urea shipment via India. According to the Agriculture Minister, the urea would be made available to those who cultivated paddy after about third week of July.

At the onset of the interview, Minister Amaraweera claimed that as a result of rapid action taken to increase cultivated paddy lands the country no longer faced threat of famine. Acknowledging the warnings issued by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and various experts, lawmaker Amaraweera said that at the time he took over the agriculture portfolio late last month, relevant authorities estimated a significant shortfall of rice of the required supply as only 275,000 hectares were cultivated. But since late May, additional land had been cultivated, MP Amaraweera said, estimating the cultivated land at 475,000 hectares.

Even if the total yield was going to be low due to a variety of reasons, including the non-availability of fertilizer and agro chemicals, cultivation of approximately 200,000 hectares of additional land would certainly make a difference.

Referring to recent COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) proceedings, Minister Amaraweera said that earlier those in authority estimated the country needed to procure approximately 800,000 mt of rice to meet the shortfall this year. The minister claimed that they would be able to bring this down to 400,000 mt of rice due to substantial increase in the cultivated land.

During the interview, Minister Amaraweera admitted that so far this year 365,000 mt of rice had been imported. The Hiru panel repeatedly pointed out that the country had to squander foreign currency on rice imports due to the ruination of paddy cultivation caused by overnight banning of urea.

Lawmaker Amaraweera said that he desired either environment or industries portfolio but President Gotabaya Rajapaksa offered him agriculture. The minister briefly described how stability suffered due to political crisis triggered by the debt crisis.

Responding to President of Rice Millers Association and Chairman of Araliya Group Dudley Sirisena declaration that he would ensure the availability of rice at government controlled price- Nadu at Rs 220 a kilo, Samba at Rs 230 and Keeri Samba at Rs 260, those big and small millers had no option to release their stocks ahead of government intervention. The minister said that both President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe gave the go ahead for tangible measures to bring the situation under control. Lawmaker Amaraweera alleged that Dudley Sirisena made that announcement in response to government moves, including importation of 50,000 mt of rice.

Minister Amaraweera side-stepped questions on how Dudley Sirisena and a few other major millers , including lawmaker Siripala Gamlath made massive profits at the expense of hapless consumers struggling to make ends meet.

The minister emphasized that rice would never be available again under 100 rupees.

All News Advertisement

News

Financial contributions received for ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

15 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

The Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to provide relief and support to communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah, continues to receive financial contributions on a daily basis.

Accordingly, the Containers Transport Owners Association made a financial contribution of Rs. 1.5 million, while the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers contributed Rs. 1.35 million to the Fund.

The respective cheques were formally presented to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (19).

The occasion was attended by W. M. S. K. Manjula, Chairman of the Containers Transport Owners Association, together with Dilip Nihal Anslem Perera and Jayantha Karunadhipathi.

Representing the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers were Deshan Rajapaksa, Samudika Perera and Devshan Rodrigo handed over the cheque.

News

UNICEF representatives and PM discuss rebuilding schools affected by the Disaster

Published

15 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

A meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and a delegation of UNICEF representatives was held on Saturday, (December 20) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister explained the measures taken by the Government to ensure the protection of the affected student community and to restore the damaged school system, as well as the challenges encountered in this process.

The Prime Minister stated that reopening schools located in landslide-prone areas would be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, the Government is focusing on identifying such schools and relocating them to suitable locations based on scientific assessments.

The Prime Minister further noted that financial assistance has been provided to students affected by the disaster, enabling parents to send their children back to school without an additional financial burden. Emphasizing that school is the safest place for children after their homes, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the school environment would help restore and improve students’ mental well-being

The Prime Minister also highlighted that attention has been given to several key areas, including the relocation of disaster-affected schools, restoration of school infrastructure, merging and operating certain schools jointly, facilitating teaching and learning through digital and technological strategies, and providing special transportation facilities. She emphasized that the Government is examining these issues and is committed to finding long-term solutions.

The UNICEF representatives commended the Government’s commitment and the initiatives undertaken to restore the education sector and assured their support to the Government. Both parties also discussed working together collaboratively on future initiatives.

The meeting was attended by the UNICEF representatives to Sri Lanka Emma Brigham, Lakshmi Sureshkumar, Nishantha Subash, and Yashinka Jayasinghe, along with Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Director of Education Dakshina Kasturiarachchi, Deputy Directors Kasun Gunarathne and Udara Dikkumbura.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

NMRA laboratory lacks SLAB accreditation

Published

16 hours ago

2025/12/22

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sanjeewa

Drug controversy:

“Setting up state-of-the-art drug testing facility will cost Rs 5 billion”

Activists call for legal action against politicians, bureaucrats

Serious questions have been raised over Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory system following revelations that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority’s (NMRA) quality control laboratory is not accredited by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB), casting doubt on both the reliability of local test results and the adequacy of oversight of imported medicines.

Medical and civil rights groups warn that the issue points to a systemic regulatory failure rather than an isolated lapse, with potential political and financial consequences for the State.

Chairman of the Federation of Medical and Civil Rights Professional Associations, Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said the controversy surrounding the Ondansetron injection, which was later found to be contaminated, had exposed deep weaknesses in drug regulation and quality assurance.

Dr. Sanjeewa said that the manufacturer had confirmed that the drug had been imported into Sri Lanka on four occasions this year, despite later being temporarily withdrawn from use. The drug was manufactured in India in November 2024 and in May and August 2025, and imported to Sri Lanka in February, July and September. On each occasion, 67,600 phials were procured.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the company had informed the NMRA that the drug was tested in Indian laboratories, prior to shipment, and passed all required quality checks. The manufacturer reportedly tested the injections against 10 parameters, including basic quality standards,

pH value, visual appearance, component composition, quantity per phial, sterility levels, presence of other substances, bacterial toxin levels and spectral variations.

According to documents submitted to the NMRA, no bacterial toxins were detected in the original samples, and the reported toxin levels were within European safety limits of less than 9.9 international units per milligram.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the credibility of local regulatory oversight had come under scrutiny, noting that the NMRA’s quality control laboratory was not SLAB-accredited. He said establishing a fully equipped, internationally accredited laboratory would cost nearly Rs. 5 billion.

He warned that the failure to invest in such a facility could have grave consequences, including continued loss of life due to substandard medicines and the inability of the State to recover large sums of public funds paid to pharmaceutical companies for defective drugs.

“If urgent steps are not taken, public money will continue to be lost and accountability will remain elusive,” Dr. Sanjeewa said.

He added that if it was ultimately confirmed that the drug did not contain bacterial toxins at the time it entered Sri Lanka, the fallout would be even more damaging, severely undermining the credibility of the country’s health system and exposing weaknesses in health administration.

Dr. Sanjeewa said public trust in the health sector had already been eroded and called for legal action against all politicians and public officials responsible for regulatory failures linked to the incident.

by Chaminda Silva ✍️