The dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year subsequent to the transition of the Sun from the house of Pisces to Aries, is considered as an extremely momentous occasion by the Sinhala and Tamil communities in the country.
On this propitious celebration, people traditionally engage in observing New Year customs at stipulated auspicious times, with the wish of securing abundant prosperity. Last year, amidst the unprecedented economic crisis which disrupted our daily lives, we partook in the New Year rituals with untold hardship and was confined to a struggle in alleviating from this adversity.
However, I am gratified that the commencement of this year has presented a salubrious environment for us all, and therefore we should strive to be more affluent and prosperous, than today. We can undoubtedly achieve this aspiration by unitedly moving forward as one Sri Lankan nation. Accordingly, despite differences in political affiliation, ethnicity and religion, a fresh beginning is imperative to create a brighter future for us and our nation, in this New Year.
I wish all Sri Lankans here and abroad a happy Sinhala and Tamil New Year!
Ranil Wickremesinghe President Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Colombo, Sri Lanka – The Sri Lankan communities celebrate the dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year on April 14 with great enthusiasm and reverence. The New Year, locally known as ‘Aluth Avurudda’ in Sinhala and ‘Puththandu’ in Tamil, is observed with various rituals and customs that hold immense significance for both communities.
According to traditional astrological belief, the Sun completes its journey across the twelve Zodiac segments in a year, taking one month to travel through each constellation. The transition of the Sun from the House of Pisces to the House of Aries marks the beginning of the New Year (Aluth Avurudu).
A number of customs and traditional beliefs are associated with Avurudu celebrations in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese community is highly influenced by astrological faiths and performs several religious practices during this time.
The auspicious times for various activities during the New Year have been specified by the astrologers for the year 2023. As per the guidelines, the New Year dawns at 2:59 p.m. on April 14 (Friday), while the inauspicious time, known as Punya Kaalaya or ‘Nonagathaya,’ is from 8:35 a.m. to 9:23 p.m. on April 14 (Friday).
The preparations for the New Year, including the preparation of meals, begin at 3:29 p.m. on April 14 (Friday). To perform this activity, one should light the hearth, clad in mix-colored clothes while facing the direction of the south. Prepare milk rice mixed with curd as well as sweetmeats containing Undu flour (Urad).
Other activities such as commencing work, transactions, and partaking in meals should be done on April 14 (Friday) at 5:05 p.m. while facing the direction of east, clad in mix-colored clothes. Anointing oil is recommended to be done on April 16 (Sunday) at 9:41 a.m. while facing the direction of the south, clad in red and yellow.
Leaving for work should be done on April 17 (Monday) at 6:28 a.m. clad in white-colored clothes while facing the south when leaving the house. Lastly, planting of tree saplings can be done on April 20 (Thursday) at 6:38 a.m. while facing the direction of east, clad in golden-colored clothes.
The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is a significant festival in Sri Lanka that brings people together to celebrate their culture and traditions. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the people of Sri Lanka have kept their spirit high and celebrated the festival with utmost reverence, following the traditional customs and beliefs.
Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts during the afternoon or night.
Mainly fair weather will prevail elsewhere over the island.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 15th of April in this year. The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (14th) are Kiranchi, Kokavil and Puthukkuduirippu at about 12:11 noon.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in France, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, organized a media briefing featuring the many attractions of Sri Lanka at the Embassy premises in Paris on 04 April 2023.The interactive press event attended by over 25 French travel and tourism media personnel, was organized to apprise the French traveler that Sri Lanka is once again open for tourism with a state-of-the-art service on offer. The event encouraged the French media to explore Sri Lanka as their next travel destination “to market” as well as “to visit”.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France Manisha Gunesekera informed the gathering that Sri Lanka welcomed the year 2023 in a positive spirit with much expectation, having overcome the challenges of the past three years. She informed that Sri Lankans are a resilient people, in addition to being friendly and hospitable, and the country at present is vibrant and welcoming. The media was apprised on the tangible measures taken by the Government to facilitate the continued and uninterrupted supply of fuel, electricity, gas and other essentials, as well as to ensure the comfort and safety of tourists, including women travelers. The Ambassador highlighted the success of the recent internationally renowned Frenchwomen adventure challenge tour “Raid Amazones” to Sri Lanka, for the second consecutive year, as proof of the quality and vitality of the Sri Lanka tourism market.
SriLankan Airlines Country Manager for France Asiri Wickramasuriya made a presentation on the flag carrier SriLankan airlines and elaborated on the quality of service on offer to the French traveler. He also highlighted the efficacy of connectivity provided between Paris and Colombo by the airline.
The Embassy in a presentation highlighted the multifaceted attractions of Sri Lanka as a top tourism destination in the world, with a focus on areas of special interest to the French traveler. A tourism video with updated information on Sri Lanka was also screened. The participants received with enthusiasm the news of the FAM tour that will be organized as a follow-up to the media briefing, in collaboration with Sri Lanka Tourism and SriLankan airlines.
The event was attended by media representing the TV channel France 24; French travel magazines 16 Mag, Easy Voyage, Grand Sud Mag, Escapade Magazine, Guide du Routard, Voyage Magazine, Life and Style; and travel websites www.infotravel.fr, www.singulars.fr, www.levasiondessens.com, www.lindigo-mag.com. The event was supported by First Secretary / Commerce of the Embassy Gayan Rajapakse.
France is placed among the top five source markets for tourism in Sri Lanka. During the first three months of 2023 Sri Lanka received 16,744 tourists from France, amounting to 5 percent of total tourist arrivals for the period.
The Government of Sri Lanka donated a consignment of 4.6 tons of apparel to the victims of the recent earthquake in Türkiye. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry handed over the consignment to the Ambassador of Türkiye to Sri Lanka Rakibe Demet Sekercioglu on 12 April 2023 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Sabry conveyed the solidarity of the Government and the people of Sri Lanka with the people of Türkiye, while highlighting the deep-rooted relations between the two countries.
The Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka facilitated the donation. Sri Lankan apparel industries Timex Garments, Sumithra Garments, DIAL Textile and several Civil Society Organization contributed to the donation.
In February, in the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Türkiye, Sri Lanka donated a consignment of Ceylon tea to the victims of the earthquake.
Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yasoja Gunasekera, officials of the Embassy of Türkiye and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also present at the ceremony.
Colombo (LNW): High Commissioner of India, H.E Gopal Baglay hosted a grand iftar dinner in Colombo on 11 April 2023.
Hon. Ali Sabry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka was the Chief Guest.
The event was attended by Hon. Vidura Wickramanayake, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Hon. K. Kader Masthan, State Minister of Rural Economy, Members of Parliament, members of diplomatic corps, guests from various walks of life including business and media.
Colombo (LNW): Indian movie sensation Naveen Kumar Gowda, better known by his stage name ‘Yash,’ has arrived in Sri Lanka on a holiday.
The ‘KGF’ star has met with Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) Dinesh Weerakkody, and shared his interest in shooting some of his movies in Sri Lanka.
‘Yash’ is a recipient of three Filmfare Awards and is currently in Sri Lanka on a holiday.
Met with Naveen Kumar Gowda the Indian actor better known by his stage name Yash, recipient of three Filmfare Awards . Keen on using Sri Lanka for some of his shoots @IndiainSL @Yashgowda0721 pic.twitter.com/zmobBAuMK2
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka corporate sector Chief Executive officers (CEO) have expressed mixed sentiment on the economic revival in the island nation predicting that the expectations for the future have begun to pick up slowly.
49% of the CEOs surveyed were of the opinion that the local economy will decline in 2023, which is a notable drop in comparison to the 69% from last year MTI economic outlook 2023 survey revealed.
An equal percentage is hopeful that the economy will stabilize, which is also a significant increase compared to the 29% from the survey responses last year.
However, only 2% of the CEOs were of the opinion that the economy will accelerate, which is even lower than the responses from last year – a declining trend that has been continuing in the most recent years.
56% of the surveyed CEOs have identified Political, Legal and Governance issues as the number one challenge to the Sri Lankan economy this year, followed by Economic Policies (24%).
The April edition of leading business magazine LMD notes that there are “mixed feelings about the economy in corporate circles.”
However, NielsenIQ’s Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya says in the magazine that “expectations for the future have begun to pick up slowly.”
According to LMD, 17% of the business people interviewed by NielsenIQ’s pollsters in early March said they expect the economy to ‘improve’ – compared to only 7% a month ago.
“Those who said the economy is going to ‘get worse’ have also come down to 63%, from the 77% who said so in February,” Miyanadeniya points out.
And a fifth of the survey sample believe that the status quo will remain over the next 12 months, LMD notes.
On a more positive note, the magazine reports: “The disposition in corporate circles about projected sales volumes in the year ahead (i.e. that the numbers will ‘get better’) has improved from less than three-in-10 (29%) in February to a somewhat healthier 37% a month later.”
“Executive opinion with regard to sales volumes compared to the same time last year reflects a slight improvement with 17% – compared to 12% in March and February respectively – affirming an increase in numbers,” it adds.
As for the short-term forecast, LMD says that there’s been an improvement in sentiment with a fifth (versus 15% in February) expecting business volumes to ‘get better’ in the next three months – and the percentage of those who expect a worsening has edged down from 48% in February to 45% a month later.
Sri Lanka’s economic confidence was around the same levels in February 2023 as in October 2022, while government approval was also unchanged at a 10 percent level, a survey has found.
A “Mood of the Nation” poll was conducted in early February 2023 by Verité Research, a Colombo-based think tank among a sample of 1,000 respondents found that economic confidence was a negative -78, the same as October 2022, when it recovered from June low.
In February 2023 0.3 percent had rated the economic conditions as excellent, 6.0 percent rate it as good; and 6.3 percent had rated it as getting better.
Colombo (LNW):The government of Sri Lanka launched a project for a passenger ferry service between the port of Kankasanthurai, Sri Lanka and Pondicherry, India to provide a more affordable and convenient mode of transportation.
In support of this project, the Sri Lanka Navy has commenced facility expansion of the Kankasanthurai harbour, with a view to accommodate more traffic and provide better infrastructure.
The Navy is committed to nurturing a stable ocean region for the safe conduct of economic activities in Sri Lankan waters.
In addition, the Navy has often made its skilled manpower, efficiency and technical expertise available for the overall progress and prosperity of the nation.
Following the directives of the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, the Sri Lanka Navy has taken an active role in supporting the expansion of the Kankasanthurai harbour facility by enabling its manpower and expertise, in response to a request of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation.
Accordingly, the project got underway on 01st February, with skilled manpower and industrial expertise enabled by the Navy.
Thus, the Sri Lanka Navy has undertaken the construction of a passenger terminal for immigration and customs clearance of people who intend to use this passenger ferry service. Required materials for the construction work are provided by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
Presently, a group of 60 naval personnel are engaged in construction of a 1000 square meter passenger terminal, under the supervision of naval civil engineering officers.
The construction work of the passenger terminal will be completed soon and thereupon the facility will be handed over to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for its operational purposes.
The passenger ferry service project is part of a larger effort to strengthen longstanding ties between India and Sri Lanka, with a focus on improving tourism.
Through the Navy’s contribution towards prompt implementation of the project, it will not only save a lot of public money, but also enable the public to enjoy the expected benefits of this project in due course.
The key developments that are scheduled to be completed at the KKS Harbour included the construction of a new commercial berth, rehabilitation of the existing breakwater (1,400 m); rehabilitation of the existing Pier No. 1 (size 96 m x 24 m); construction of Pier No. 2 of existing Pier and finally, the completion of infrastructure facilities such as navigational aids, a concrete road on the breakwater, etc.
Furthermore, to fund the project work, the Government of Sri Lanka has entered into a dollar credit line agreement with the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India and obtained financial assistance of US $ 45.27 million.
As per the decision of the Government,the KKS Harbour is to be developped as a main commercial port in Sri Lanka.
Colombo (LNW): The Election Commission has decided to terminate the recognition awarded to political parties which had failed to submit their financial statements.
The Commission’s action may result in certain political parties being ended up as political movements not accepted as parties eligible to contest any election.
Accordingly, the Election Commission has decided to call for a report on the parties that have failed to submit their financial statements, pointing out that their decision comes in as certain political groups have failed to submit their statements since 2021.
It added that these political groups were informed to submit their 2021 financial statements within a period of 14 days, of which the deadline was last week.
