Environmental groups have raised fresh concerns over increasing levels of coal ash generated at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, warning of serious environmental and public health risks if proper disposal mechanisms are not urgently implemented.

 Environmental scientist and Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Chairman Hemantha Withanage, in a strongly-worded comment yesterday, said the growing volume of ash was being treated as a “blessing” by authorities, while, in reality, it posed a major ecological threat.

 He told The Island: “More coal and more ash are being celebrated as a blessing. People around Norochcholai should get ready to apply it on their foreheads — and this will affect everyone, regardless of political affiliation.”

 Norochcholai, Sri Lanka’s largest coal-fired power station, produces thousands of tonnes of fly ash and bottom ash annually. Environmentalists say a significant portion of this waste is either inadequately stored or disposed of without proper environmental safeguards.

 Withanage said coal ash contains toxic heavy metals, such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead, which can contaminate soil, groundwater and nearby marine ecosystems.

 “Coal ash is not ordinary waste. It is a hazardous industrial material. If it leaks into the environment, it can enter food chains and drinking water sources,” he said.

 He warned that communities living around Norochcholai were already exposed to air pollution from ash particles, especially during windy conditions, leading to respiratory problems and long-term health risks.

 CEJ has repeatedly called for a transparent national policy on coal ash management, including safe storage facilities, independent monitoring, and exploring environmentally responsible reuse options under strict regulation.

 Withanage stressed that while some countries recycle coal ash in construction materials, Sri Lanka lacks the regulatory framework and technical safeguards to do so safely.

“Without proper standards, recycling can become another pathway for toxic exposure,” he cautioned.

 Environmentalists are also urging the government to accelerate the transition away from coal towards renewable energy, arguing that continued dependence on coal will only multiply waste and health burdens in the coming years.

 Norochcholai supplies nearly one-third of the country’s base-load electricity, but has remained controversial, since its commissioning, due to repeated technical failures, marine pollution concerns and its long-term environmental footprint.

 “With climate change and public health risks, coal is a problem we should be reducing, not normalising,” Withanage said. “Otherwise, the ash will eventually come back to all of us.”

by Ifham Nizam

The police have arrested one of the two gunmen involved in the killing of Attorney-at-Law Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife, at Akuregoda, on 13 February. The suspect has been identified as a legally discharged soldier.

A team of the Homagama Divisional Crime Investigation Bureau personnel apprehended the ex-soldier at Delduwa, Ambalangoda, on Saturday, around 6.20 p.m. Sources said that the suspect, identified as drug addict, had admitted that he was the one who fired the T-56 assault rifle in the attack. The other attacker used a pistol. He is still at large.

Police identified the suspect in custody as a 46-year-old resident of Baddegama. He made use of a general amnesty offered to deserters, after the conclusion of the war, to secure legal discharge. He was with a friend at Delduwa, Ambalangoda, and worked on a nearby cinnamon estate.

The suspect has been detained under PTA and the police given the power to hold him for 90 days.

The police recovered his mobile phone.

The killers arrived at Akuregoda, in a car, and fled the area after killing the couple. The ex-soldier had got off the car, near Kottawa, and then took a bus to Dehiwala, from where he proceeded to Ambalangoda.

Under interrogation, the suspect has revealed that he carried out the hit on a contract given by Karandeniye Sudda, a notorious underworld figure, who paid him Rs 1 mn and provided a quantity of heroin.

The ex-soldier is among nine persons taken into custody in connection with the ongoing investigations into the Akuregoda double murder.

Among those taken into custody are two brothers from Athurugiriya who allegedly transported one of the firearms used in the killing and provided information about the lawyer’s vehicle. Another person, identified as “Polgasowita Dila,” believed to have coordinated the Akuregoda hit, was also taken into custody during preliminary investigations.

The Police Special Task Force’s Southern Province Special Operations Unit arrested six more suspects over the weekend at Ethkandura, Kahaduwa, for aiding and abetting the double murder

Investigations have further revealed that the individual, who moved the gunman to a hotel in Pannipitiya, had fled to Thailand, via the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said in Parliament on Friday that some Opposition politicians who had not even dared to mention the name of Gotabaya Rajapaksa during the Rajapaksa era were now acting like heroes.

Minister Nanayakkara said so when SJB Kalutara District MP Ajith P. Perera asked whether the government would reopen cases against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who no longer enjoyed presidential immunity. The former UNP Deputy Minister asked the Justice Minister whether the NPP, as promised during the polls campaign, had resumed hearings into 42 cases filed against the Rajapaksas and others.An irate Minister Nanayakkara said that those who had been under their beds those days were now acting as if they were heroes. He refused to answer MP Perera’s question. (SF)