President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed to increase the weekly fuel quota of 05 litres issued for professional passenger transport three-wheelers to 10 litres.

As the first phase, the registration of professional three-wheelers in the Western Province is scheduled to commence on November 1st.

This was revealed during the discussion held today (24) between the President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Staff to the President Mr Sagala Ratnayake and the professional three-wheeler associations.

Accordingly, from November 6th, 10 litres of fuel per week will be issued to all three-wheeler passenger vehicles in the Western Province.

The registration of passenger transport three-wheelers will commence from November 6th to 13th, after which it is planned to issue the fuel quota to three-wheelers in other provinces of the island.

Currently, there are 1.08 million three-wheelers in Sri Lanka, out of 400,000 are passenger transport three-wheelers, according to the three-wheeler associations.

Around 300,000 three-wheelers have been registered with the Sri Lanka Police, and if it is not possible to register the three-wheelers in the entire island by November 13, it was also decided to release the fuel quota for the three-wheelers registered with the police as an initial step.

Provincial Governors and Provincial Road Transport Authority officials are also to be notified regarding this decision immediately.

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera, Minister of State for Transport Lasantha Alagiyawanna, President Trade Union Director General Saman Ratnapriya and a group of officials participated in this discussion.

PMD

1. Group of economists including Nishan de Mel and Shanta Devarajan who strongly recommended debt default previously, now recommend restructuring of domestic debt “as it would benefit the Government”.
   
2. GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge says there is an acute shortage of more than 90 essential medicines in most government hospitals: also says the hospital network in the country will collapse due to shortages.
   
3. Tea production down 7.8% YoY in September 2022: total output for the 9 months also down 18%: cost of production up 35%: lowest production since 1996.
   
4. State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage to visit USA next month to initiate talks in constructing South Asia’s first “Disneyland” in Hambantota; estimated investment to be USD 18 bn.
   
5. Lanka Bakery Owners’ Association claims false prices of wheat flour are being circulated to force a reduction in the price of a loaf of bread: says current price of 1 kg of wheat flour is around Rs.320.
   
6. Army and the Mahaweli Security Forces apprehend 7 people who took videos of the Victoria dam and the high security area around it with a drone camera.
   
7. Weekly fuel quota of 5 litres issued for passenger transport three-wheelers increased to 10 litres: first phase to start on 1st November in the Western Province.
   
8. Angelia Gunasekara crowned the first ever “Miss Sri Lanka – New York” at a pageant held at The Vanderbilt in South Beach: 300 attendees: massive brawl at the “after-party” that followed the successful pageant.
   
9. Treasury promises to pay Rs.18 bn out of the total amounts due of Rs.230 bn in the construction sector: Rs.5 bn to be paid in November and Rs.13 bn in December.
   
10. State Finance Minister Siyambalapitiya says betting and gaming taxes will be increased: also says annual tax for casinos will be increased from Rs.200 mn to Rs.500 mn from 1st August: casino entrance fee of USD 20 to be charged from locals.

A partial solar eclipse will be visible in many parts of Sri Lanka on October 25, 2022, at the sunset. The eclipse will also be visible over much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and western parts of Asia. In Sri Lanka, the eclipse is best seen from Jaffna said Prof. Chandana Jayaratne, the Director of the Astronomy and Space Science Unit of the Department of Physics, University of Colombo.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in a straight line between the Earth and the Sun. The Moon’s shadow then passes across the Earth’s surface and blocks the Sun’s light as seen from Earth. A solar eclipse occurs on a new moon day.

Areas and times when this partial solar eclipse will be visible:

For the city of Jaffna, the partial eclipse begins at  5.27 p.m. and the maximum eclipse occurs at 5.46 p.m. with 8.8 % of the solar disk covered by the moon. Though the eclipse ends at 6.20 p.m. we can observe it only up to the sunset due at 5.49 p.m.   This eclipse will be visible to Jaffna for 22 minutes.

The northern part of Sri Lanka, from Anuradhapura to Jaffna, is the most suitable region to observe this eclipse.

For those who live in Colombo, the beginning of the partial eclipse can be observed at 5.43 p.m. and the maximum eclipse occurs at 5.49 p.m. with the moon covering about 1.6% of the solar disk. The partial solar eclipse cannot be observed after 5.52 p.m. due to sunset. This eclipse will be visible to the Colombo area for about 9 minutes.

This eclipse is not visible to the southern parts of Sri Lanka.

Professor Chandana Jayaratne also said that since this eclipse occurs when the sun is very dim near the western horizon close to sunset, it is fairly okay to observe the eclipse even without a solar filter. Naked eye observations at the eclipse maximum time and afterwards for a short period of less than 30 seconds will not cause any damage to the eyes. A solar eclipse will again appear in Sri Lanka after 5 years, on August 2, 2027.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row with a two weeks gap. Accordingly, 14 days later, on November 8^th  there will be a total lunar eclipse too visible to many parts of the world. That eclipse will be visible to Sri Lanka as a partial lunar eclipse at the moon’s rise on the eastern horizon from 5.48 p.m. to 6.19 p.m.

Prof. Chandana Jayaratne

Professor in Physics, and Director, Astronomy and Space Science Unit, University of Colombo

The local LP Gas price may likely to further drop based on the price fluctuations at the global market, said the LITRO Gas Company.

Accordingly, chances are high that the LITRO Gas Price will further drop at the beginning of November, said LITRO Chief Muditha Peiris.

The LITRO Gas price was last revised on October 05, 2022, dropping the price of a 12.5 kg domestic gas cylinder by Rs. 271.

MIAP