News
Sajith cries foul over allocation of stalls at new Manning Market
By Saman Indrajith
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday told parliament that there were serious issues pertaining to the allocation of stalls in the new Manning Market at Peliyagoda. There had been instances of a single shop being given to two traders.
Taking special permission from the Chair, the Opposition Leader said: “When it was planned to construct the new Manning Market at a cost of Rs 6.9 billion we provided a list of all the rightful owners of the old Manning Market. There were 1,192 of them. We promised to lease the shops at the market for a monthly rental of Rs 2,000-3,000 and did not intend to ask the shop owners to place any deposit. The new government completed the construction work and we are told that the traders have been asked to deposit Rs 200,000 to 500,000 per stall. In addition they have been informed that they would be required to pay a monthly rental of Rs 15,000. This is unfair.”
Premadasa said that those traders had found that the same space had been allocated to two people in some cases. “How are you going to lease the same space to two persons simultaneously? The original list of 1,192 traders registered in 2017 had the names of those who had stalls at the old Manning Market. We included the names of all traders who had been there. So, the new list must be having the names of some outsiders.”
He requested the government to stick to the original list of names and to lease a stall at a monthly rental of Rs. 3,000.
The Ambassador of Indonesia to Sri LankaDewi Gustina Tobing, met Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya at the Parliament of Sri Lanka to discuss strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations.
The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in trade, tourism, technology, and education, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to fostering diplomatic and economic ties for mutual benefit.
A key area of focus was expanding tourism exchanges, including religious tourism, which holds significant potential for growth.
The two delegations also explored opportunities in trade, particularly the importation of palm oil and the introduction of organic liquid fertilizers to support Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector.
Collaboration in the IT industry was highlighted as another promising area of partnership, alongside discussions on integrating electric vehicles into Sri Lanka’s public transport system.
The Sri Lankan delegation, led by Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mrs. Sagarika Boghawatta, included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Indonesian delegation was represented by Deputy Ambassador . Fiki Oktanioand Minister Counsellor Mrs. Lailal K. Yuniarti.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
The Matara Magistrate’s Court today [20], ordered that former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Deshabandu Tennakoon be further remanded until April 03..
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka has announced that the upcoming Local Authorities Poll will be held on Tuesday 06th May 2025
The acceptance of nominations for the poll concluded at 12.00 noon today (20).
Ambassador of Indonesia to Sri Lanka calls on PM
Former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon further remanded until April 03.
Local Authorities poll on 6th May
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