News
Senior academics and conservationists express fears over Pidurutalagala slopes
A group of top level academics and environmentalists have written to President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressing grave concern about the degradation of the Mahakudugala Conservation Forest located in the uppermost on the slopes of Pidurutalagala, the country’s highest mountain.
“The numerous waterways that begin on its steep sides provide water, all year round, to the communities that inhabit the eastern escarpment of the Central Highlands, and to the rich biodiversity its forests host, high in endemism,” they have said in an open letter.
The text of their letter: “You have openly expressed your commitment to the protection of the watersheds of Sri Lanka,recognizing their vital importance for slowing, cleaning, filtering and storing water by allowing it to absorb into the ground. This process improves water quality, reduces risk of flooding, reduces risk for invasive species to establish and increases resilience within a changing climate; all vital for the future health and prosperity of this Nation.
“Your Excellency has also expressed your belief and intent in honouring Sri Lanka’s legally binding commitment to the three Rio Conventions, with the ultimate and essential intent of addressing climate change. With these noble intents, it may be horrifying for you to learn that both of the above ideals are being compromised on the slopes of this country’s highest mountain; Pidurutalagala. The numerous waterways that begin on its steep sides provide water, all year round, to the communities that inhabit the eastern escarpment of the Central Highlands, and to the rich biodiversity its forests host, high in endemism.
“And why is this survival disaster, for humans and nature, playing out? For growing apples!
The Proposed Apple Farm
“The proposed Apple Farm is situated in the Maha Kudugala GN Division of the Pidurutalagala Conservation Forest located entirely within the uppermost watershed, mainly of the Kurundu Oya, at an elevation range of 1500 m – 2100 m (over 5000 ft.) The land area of the Farm is 126 ha consisting of three blocks each of 89 ha, 12 ha, and 5 ha respectively. It has, however, never been used for the growing of apples, but for other agricultural purposes. Any clearing of these lands, for whatever purpose, has detrimental consequences to the ecological balance of this region, and the services it gives to the local communities downstream of it.
“In terms of hydrological importance, the Pedro Reserve was ranked Number Three (No. 3), just behind the Peak Wilderness and the Knuckles Range, of all the natural forests in Sri Lanka surveyed during the National Conservation Review (NCR 1996) conducted by the IUCN-The World Conservation Union with funding from the FAO. The main reason for gaining such a high rank is the contribution of fog interception by the natural forests to feed the streams originating from them, thus ensuring year-round water security. According to the IUCN-sponsored NCR (1996), the total fog contribution foregone by converting forest into agricultural land use is about 860,000 cubic meters per annum.
“This is why this land is so important and as a body of concerned Conservation / Environmental Groups, Scientists and Researchers, we plead with you to use your high office to prevent the destruction of a vital mountain forest, and upper watershed, for growing apples. Our deep concerns, and reasons for addressing you directly like this, are summarized in the attached paper, for study by your science advisors. We have also made suggestions for possible strategies that will not only help preserve this fragile, yet vital, forest for posterity, but also greater gain to the human communities that depend not only on this mountain forest, but others like it.
“We thank you for your time, and sincerely hope that you will not let this vital piece of Sri Lanka be exploited and destroyed, for the short-term profit of just a few.”
The signatories are: Prof. Nimal Gunatilleke, Prof. Siril Wijesundara, Mr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, Prof. Sevvandi Jayakody, Prof. Enoka Kudavidanage, Prof. Sampath Seneviratne, Dr. Sandun J. Perera, Dr. Suranjan Fernando, Mr. Hemantha Withanage, Centre for Environmental Justice and Mr. Jehan Canagaretna, Wildlife and Nature Protection Society
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.
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)
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 ✍️
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