Poems From Galle , a new collection of poems by Chandana Ruwan Jayanetti, will be launched on Saturday, 20th December, at 2.00 pm, at Dakshinapaya, the Auditorium of the Chief Ministry, Southern Provincial Council, Labuduwa, Galle.

The book has an introduction by Kamala Wijeratne, the veteran poet and writer, and a blurb by Professor Lalith Ananda Gamage. It is dedicated to Emeritus Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, Chandana’s teacher at university. Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha will also be the Chief Guest of the launching ceremony, while the poet Kamala Wijeratne will be the Guest of Honour.

In addition to Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, who will also do the book review, there will be speeches by veteran Sinhala poet and musical artiste Dr. Rathna Sri Wijesinghe, and Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi. Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, will be a special invitee.

Poems From Galle is Chandana’s second book of poetry after his first, Reflections in Loneliness, published in 2015. The launching ceremony will be attended by 250 guests and invitees from all circles of society. Poetry recitation and solo music are in the agenda with one solo music act by Praneeth Saranga, the famous violinist of the SLBC orchestra.

Chandana is a Senior lecturer in English in the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education – SLAITE – and works in the Galle Advanced Technological Institute – ATI – and is Head of the English Department there.

Allegation of doing business with state:

Civil society activist Oshala Herath has said that regardless of the political party one represents, all members of Parliament should abide by the law of the land. Herath said so when The Island sought his response to a report that he was planning to move court against Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, accused of holding the top positions at Omobio (Pvt.) and Eimsky Business Solutions (Pvt.) Ltd., at the time of the nominations, and took oaths as a National List MP of the NPP government.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the Minister of Digital Economy, in addition to being Minister of Defence and Finance.

Herath is the Chairman of Abhinawa Niwahal Peramuna. Herath, whose legal challenge to SJB MP Diana Gamage over her citizenship issue, led to her removal from Parliament by the Supreme Court on 08 May, last year. He said the latest case underscored the responsibility on the part of political parties to ensure transparency in the nomination process as well as in the finalisation of National List.

Herath pointed out that the court rulings on petitions filed by him against two serving MPs were pending. He moved court against Jaffna District Independent MP Ramanathan Archchuna for handing over nominations to contest the 2024 November parliamentary elections without resigning from his post as a government medical officer. He also moved court against Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Dr. Upali Pannilage, alleging that he had been an employee of the University of Ruhuna at the time he was declared an MP and subsequently appointed as a Cabinet Minister.

Our efforts to contact Deputy Minister Weeraratne were in vain. Our calls went unanswered.

Pointing out that there were many attorneys-at-law in the current Parliament, Herath emphasised the responsibility on their part to take up the issue. The Speaker should, on his own, inquire into such allegations in addition to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee stepping in, Herath said. Responding to another query, Herath said that such violations as well as cases of conflict of interests were far more serious than the recent controversy over NPP National List MP Asoka Ranwala’s educational qualifications.

SJB MP Ajith P. Perera told The Island that the Deputy Minister concerned admitted in Parliament that he had held top posts in the companies mentioned at the time he took oaths as an MP. Therefore, there couldn’t be any ambiguity with regard to his fault. Perera said that the conflict of interest issue involving NPPer was far more serious.

Referring to the issue at hand that had been first raised by SJB lawmaker Amila Prasad Siriwardena in Parliament during committee stage of the debate on the 2026 Budget, Attorney-at-Law Perera said that Weeraratne’s companies were engaged in mega business deals with the government. Declaring that they had secured contracts for government projects since 2019, Perera said that one of the companies Weeraratne was involved in had recently won a major contract from the incumbent government regarding the electronic ticketing system.

Kalutara District MP called for a comprehensive inquiry into the issue as the NPP had come to power, accusing all other political parties of waste, corruption, irregularities and mismanagement of state funds. MP Perera queried whether the current dispensation followed proper procedures in selecting Weeraratne’s company for the ticketing project

Both Herath and Perera urged the JVP and NPP to look into what they called the Weeraratne affair.

Over the years, several MPs had been disqualified to hold parliamentary seats. Dr. Rajitha Senaratne is one of them. When the Court of Appeal dismissed Dr. Senaratne from Parliament for being a supplier to the government, Ranil Wickremesinghe brought him back to Parliament, through the National List.

MP Perera said that since the last parliamentary election, the NPP had been embroiled in many controversies, including the release of 323 containers from the Colombo Port, in January this year, followed by signing of seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)/agreements with India in April.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The government has appealed to India for immediate help to overcome the serious shortage of life-saving drugs and injections.

The Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi confirmed the appeal made by the government. The following is the text of statement issued by the Sri Lankan mission in New Delhi: “The Foreign Secretary of India, Vikram Misri, over the weekend handed over a consignment of urgently required essential medicines to Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Mahishini Colonne, in New Delhi. The assistance, extended in response to a request from the Government of Sri Lanka, forms part of Operation Sagar Bandhu, India’s humanitarian mission supporting Sri Lanka’s relief, recovery, and reconstruction efforts following the devastating Cyclone Ditwah.

The consignment consists of over 400 boxes of life-saving medicines and injections, which will be airlifted to Colombo by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft, alongside further additional relief assistance from India.

Deputy Indian High Commissioner Pandey shaking hands with Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayathissa

Foreign Secretary Misri reiterated the condolences of the Government and people of India for the tragic loss of lives and the extensive damage to infrastructure caused by the Cyclone. He reaffirmed India’s steadfast commitment to supporting Sri Lanka’s immediate humanitarian needs as well as rebuilding and reconstruction efforts. He also highlighted India’s readiness to work with Sri Lanka on a mix of initiatives tailored to the needs of affected communities.

High Commissioner Colonne conveyed the sincere appreciation of the President, Government, and people of Sri Lanka for India’s timely, continuous, and sustained support, and handed over to the Foreign Secretary, a letter of gratitude from the President of Sri Lanka to the Prime Minister of India.

 Describing the extensive nature of the damage, the High Commissioner appreciated the ongoing and consistent engagement of the Indian High Commission in Colombo, in collaboration with government officials and local authorities in coordinating relief, rescue, and recovery efforts.

SLAF personnel unloading medicine from IAF transport plane

The High Commissioner also requested India’s support in sharing its expertise and leadership in enhancing disaster-response capabilities and disaster-resilience frameworks, especially lessons from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, both globally recognized for their advanced disaster resilience frameworks. Apart from this support that is under discussion, the New Delhi-based Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) has also been requested to undertake a visit to Sri Lanka to explore avenues for strengthening Sri Lanka’s disaster resilient infrastructure capacities. Noting the importance of having an effective and real-time warning system, efforts are being made to deploy a team to explore the establishment of an early warning system that would provide real-time geo-targeted alerts to citizens.

The High Commissioner reiterated Sri Lanka’s gratitude to the Government and people of India for their continued solidarity under Operational Sagar Bandhu, reaffirming the strength of the longstanding partnership between the two nations.”