Chairman of the Election Commission Nimal G. Punchihewa said that it is not fair for the subject Minister to hold the power to postpone the conduction of the Local Government Election and that such a power should be possessed by the Commission.

Despite any reason to postpone the Election being justified, some parties may view that it was due to political influence, he pointed out, adding that the Election Commission, therefore, should have the power to postpone the holding of the Local Government Election.

The Local Government Election has been postponed until next March as per the powers of the Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Governments, but after September, the Commission will have the power to hold it, hence the immediate conduction of the polls being of importance, Punchihewa added.

He noted that the holding of the Provincial Council Election which has been dragged in for many years must also be expedited.

Following the decision to amend the Electoral System, the Provincial Council Election could not be held, but amendments to the general laws affecting the holding of the polls passed by Parliament could allow the Election to be held in the old system, he pointed out.

The matter has also been briefed at the Select Committee and the Provincial Council Election should be held as soon as possible after adopting the necessary legal amendments, the Commission Chief stressed.

MIAP

As the Yala Season paddy harvesting has already commenced, the Agriculture Ministry has stated that the government has allocated Rs. 2,000 million to purchase farmers’ paddy crops at a reasonable price and will allocate more in the future.

Following complaints by farmers that mill owners of the private sector are purchasing paddy stocks for Rs. 80 – 90, the government decided to increase the price of paddy, leading to some of the major revisions in paddy prices, Rs. 120 per kilo of Nadu paddy, Rs. 125 per kilo of Samba paddy and Rs. 130 per kilo of Keeri Samba paddy.

Chairman of the Paddy Marketing Board Neil Alwis revealed that about 845 metric tonnes (844,960 kg) of paddy were purchased within three days of starting paddy purchase.

As of now, purchase of paddy is carried out through 73 paddy warehouses in the districts where paddy harvesting has commenced. The purchasing activities will continue today as well, Alwis said.

MIAP

Sri Lanka Tourism Ministry has initiated a new Indian tourist promotion plan titled Murugan-Shiva Shakthi trails offering for Indian pilgrims by Air to visit North and East to places of Hindu worship.

Pallay International airport has been redeveloped to facilitate flights from New Delhi to Jaffna, tourism officials said.  

Sri Lanka’s tourism officials, conscious of the dire need to shore up the country’s economy, plan to woo a greater number of Indian tourists, who constitute the single largest segment of foreign tourists, through new packages such as the Murugan-Shiva Shakthi trails.

Their optimism stems from the fact that there is a proposal to resume air passenger services from the Palaly airport, in Jaffna, to destinations in the southern part of India. .

Tourism minister Harin Fernando who was in Ahmedabad Journalists “We are trying to bring in a big crowd at once about 2,000 pilgrims to Jaffna airport, and from there starting by road.

‘We are looking at exploring these new avenues. We also have a lot of wellness, yoga, meditation and Ayurvedic medicines. There are a lot of values that India and Sri Lanka share,” the minister said.

As part of the Murugan trail, two important places — Nallur Kandaswamy or Murugan temple in Jaffna of the Northern Province, and Kataragama of the Uva Province in the southeast — have been included.

Referring to the ongoing 25-day-long festival in Nallur (which concludes on August 27), Chalaka Gajabahu, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, told a group of journalists, from India, recently, in Colombo, that the festival was expected to draw over a million devotees, including 1,00,000 from the diaspora. A “special calendar” of events was being prepared for Hindu devotees.

Answering to a question raise by an Indian Journalist as to whether the Northern Province would be a regular feature in the packages for tourists, Mr. Gajabahu replied in the affirmative and asserted “we have been actively promoting the North on trade FAMs [familiarisation trips].” The East, too, would receive more focus in view of its diverse cultural significance that encompassed Islam. However, he conceded that marketing of the North had not been done “much.”

The question was raised, in the context of coverage of Naguleeswaram in Jaffna and Thiruketheeswaram in Mannar, both coming under five abodes of Lord Shiva in Sri Lanka, in the new Murugan trail.

The other three abodes included Thirukoneeswaram temple, Trincomalee, in the Eastern Province, Munneeswaram temple in the north-west and Tondeeshwaram temple, near Matara, in the south. The trail would also include shrines such as Nagapooshani Amman temple and Nagadeepa Purana Vihara, both in Nainativu, off Jaffna.

Former Minister John Ameratunga says the only politician who can fix the economy and get Sri Lanka out of this financial morass is President Ranil.

He has wide experience having worked with several Presidents, Amaratunga noted.

Further he noted, Ranil has many international connections that is crucial as this moment for the country.

“We need to give him the support. All parties should unite until Sri Lanka comes out of this crisis.”

Ameratunga was the first nominated member of parliament in 1978 and was a parliamentarian for 41 years.