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Power cuts may last in festive season too: PUCSL

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Power cuts may last in festive season too: PUCSL

Power cuts may last in the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year festive season as well, warned the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) in contrast to the comments made by the government that the power cuts will end by April this year.

This is mainly due to hydro-power being declined on a daily basis, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayake told media.

The water levels for hydro-power generation are declining everyday despite the arrival of enough fuel to generate electricity. Accordingly, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is facing a crisis in meeting the national grid.

In the backdrop, power cuts may last in the festive season as well, warned Ratnayake, adding that nevertheless, maximum efforts will be put to provide an uninterrupted power supply at least during the two days of Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

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‘Have to eat half’: Sri Lankans feel pain of spiralling economic crisis

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‘Have to eat half’: Sri Lankans feel pain of spiralling economic crisis

MINUWANGODA, Sri Lanka, March 24 (Reuters) – Thusitha Hadaragama stood at a corner store near his home in Sri Lanka’s Minuwangoda town this week and surveyed groceries to buy for his family of five, including two school-age children, who live on his monthly salary of 50,000 rupees ($181.82).

“Prices have gone up again. I will buy a little bit,” said the 43-year-old driver, who works in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital of Colombo, 40 kilometres away. “We will have to eat half of what we ate before.”

Across Sri Lanka, families like Hadaragama’s are feeling the growing pain of the country’s worst economic crisis in years, which has driven up prices of essentials and triggered shortages of everything from food to fuel.

Historically weak government finances, badly timed tax cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic, which pummelled the tourism industry and foreign remittances, have wreaked havoc on the economy. read more

The country is left with foreign reserves of only around $2.31 billion as of February, even as it faces debt payments of about $4 billion through the rest of the year.

“The reason for the shortages is not a shortage of any commodity but the shortage of dollars,” said Dhananath Fernando, chief operating officer of Colombo think-tank Advocata Institute.

Shedding months of resistance, Sri Lanka’s government last week said it would begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a way out of the crisis. read more

The country of 22 million people has also sought assistance from India and China.

But for ordinary Sri Lankans, everyday chores have become an ordeal. To fill up his motorcycle, Hadaragama now must stand in long queues and pay more than double for a litre of petrol compared to three months ago.

At home, his wife, Varuni, has cut down on how much she cooks to feed her family, which includes two teenage boys and a daughter.

“Earlier I cooked three potatoes,” she said. “Now I make only two.”

($1 = 275.0000 Sri Lankan rupees)

Reuters

Railway Station Masters allege train ticket prices soared without formal notification

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Railway Station Masters allege train ticket prices soared without formal notification

For the first time in history, the Department of Railway has decided to increase the prices of train tickets without any formal notification, alleged the Railway Station Masters’ Association.

Speaking to media, Union President Sumedha Somaratna revealed that not even the station masters were informed of a price hike. As a result, the station masters who are in direct contact with the passengers have been severely inconvenienced, he added.

The Union further disclosed that the prices of some train tickets have surged by 50 – 60 per cent causing serious trouble to passengers, adding that no such increase has ever been made in history.

Unions responding to the Sri Lanka Railway had previously warned that the launching of a strike action would be inevitable had the price of train tickets been increased. Some trade unions have already decided to go on strike.

FOT = Colombo Fort
KDT = Kandy
NOA = Nanuoya
ELL = Ella
BAD = Badulla

KRN = Kurunegala
ANP = Anuradhapura
KOC = Kilinochchi
KKS = Kankasanturai

Fuel crisis over in about a week or two: Lokuge (VIDEO)

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Fuel crisis over in about a week or two: Lokuge (VIDEO)

Diesel and petrol have been distributed to Colombo and surrounding cities in significant amounts said Energy Minister speaking to media today (24) following months of obsessed crowds near fuel stations amid the fuel crisis in Sri Lanka.

The Energy Minister added that the distribution continued as usual from 06 am today and another decision has been taken to distribute a diesel bowser and a petrol bowser to every filling station in Colombo during the morning and afternoon hours.

Meanwhile, every kerosene filling station in Colombo will also be supplied with a bowser, Lokuge noted.

Based on the current distribution method, the fuel crisis may be over in about a week or two, he further told media.

Sobadanavi LNG Power Plant to add 350MV to national grid

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Sobadanavi LNG Power Plant to add 350MV to national grid

A 200 megawatt capacity of power will be added to the national grid by the Sobadanavi Liquefied Neutral Gas (LNG) power plant which is generating 350 megawatts of power, Power Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said.

She made this observation during her observation tour into Sri Lanka’s first ever LNG power plant Sobadanavi in Kerawalapitiya.

The construction of this power plant is a project delayed for a very long time, the Minister went on, adding that the power crisis in the country would not have occurred, had it been built on time.

Banking Sector stable – Joint statement from Finance Ministry and CBSL

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Banking Sector stable – Joint statement from Finance Ministry and CBSL

“The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka wish to assure the public and all other stake holders that the banking system is stable, and that the operations of the State Banks are being carried out smoothly, contrary to statements made otherwise.”

The Finance Ministry and the CBSL made this joint statement in response to the speculations made on media suggesting that the state banking sector in Sri Lanka has collapsed.

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People’s Bank’s Chairman debunks speculations on Social Media

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People’s Bank’s Chairman debunks speculations on Social Media

Social Media speculations on People’s Bank, Sri Lanka’s leading state bank, being subjugated to a crisis are completely false, Bank Chairperson Sujeewa Rajapaksa emphasised.

Speaking exclusively to LNW, Mr. Rajapaksa noted that such a crisis does not exist and that these speculations are spread to mislead the public.

“It is a blatant lie that People’s Bank is in crisis. Two or three Letters of Credit (LCs) were stalled with the dollar shortage in the country these days. But today the required dollars are being provided by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. So, that problem is over today. There is no other issue. There is no problem in Rupees either, these are completely false propaganda. No need to worry, People’s Bank is not an institution that causes problems. These are lies to mislead these people,” he said.

MIAP

Sri Lanka: Criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity breached rights of a LGBTI activist, UN women’s rights committee finds

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Sri Lanka: Criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity breached rights of a LGBTI activist, UN women’s rights committee finds

GENEVA  – Sri Lanka violated the rights of a lesbian and leading LGBTI activist who was subjected to discrimination, threats and abuses due to the country’s Penal Code that criminalises same-sex sexual activity, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has found.

In its decision published today (23), CEDAW found that Sri Lanka has breached the rights of Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, the founder and Executive Director of Equal Ground, an organisation defending the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community in Sri Lanka.

Flamer-Caldera has been supporting lesbian and bisexual women in defending their rights after discovering in 1997 that the country’s Penal Code, which criminalises same-sex sexual activity, had been amended to include also sexual conduct between women. Since then, Flamer-Caldera has suffered high-profile attacks on her character, and she and her organisation have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, stigmatization and threats of violence by State officials and members of the public, including the press and social media.

In 2012 and 2013, the Women and Children’s Bureau of the Sri Lanka Police used Flamer-Caldera’s photo and her position with Equal Ground in presentations to assert that the rise of child abuse was mainly due to the “growing homosexual culture”. They claimed that she and her organisation were responsible for “spreading” homosexuality, implying that they were also responsible for “spreading” paedophilia.

Despite facing harassment and stigmatization, Flamer-Caldera did not complain to the police as she was worried she would be arrested. As a result of the amended Penal Code, she has been under constant risk of arrest, detention and investigation of her private life and has had to modify her behaviour.

Flamer-Caldera brought her case to the Committee and claimed that the criminalisation of female same-sex sexual activity and the concomitant potential for arrest and prosecution amount to discrimination on the grounds of gender and sexual orientation, violating her right to non-discrimination.

“Ms. Flamer-Caldera has been frequently threatened and harassed by the police, the media and the public, but she has been unable to report these abuses out of fear of being arrested,” said Committee member Hiroko Akizuki.

“The criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity has meant that the discrimination, violence and harassment on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community in Sri Lanka will continue with impunity,” she added.

CEDAW found that the Sri Lankan authorities have subjected Flamer-Caldera to gender-based discrimination and violence.

It found that the Sri Lankan authorities had not taken any legal or other measures to respect and protect Flamer-Caldera’s right to a life free from gender-based violence or to eliminate the prejudices to which she has been exposed as a woman, lesbian and activist.

It also found that the authorities have breached her right to access to justice to complain of the abuses and her right to non-discrimination concerning her family relations.

The Committee urged Sri Lanka to decriminalise same-sex sexual conduct. It also requested that the State take immediate and effective action to stop the threats, harassment and abuse, which Flamer-Caldera has been subjected to, and to take criminal procedures to hold those responsible to account.

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Gas crisis to be solved within the next 10 days

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Gas crisis to be solved within the next 10 days

It is planned to release one million gas cylinders to the market within the next 10 days, which will alleviate the current shortage of gas in the market, said Thushara Jayasinghe, Chairman of Litro.

Jayasinghe further stated that the supply of gas to Litro is being continued and two more ships carrying gas are scheduled to arrive in the island tomorrow and Monday.

He says he plans to release one million gas cylinders to the market in the next 10 days.

Normally between 80,000 and 100,000 cylinders of gas are required to meet the daily requirement of the country, but from time to time Litro was unable to maintain these supplies due to the non-availability of the required stocks of gas.

Also, due to the current shortage of dollars, the Laugfs company is no longer able to market Laugfs gas properly.

Ceylon Chamber Chairman Expresses Gratitude to India for its Assistance 

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Ceylon Chamber Chairman Expresses Gratitude to India for its Assistance 

The Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Mr. Vish Govindasamy thanked the Government and the people of India for coming to Sri Lanka’s aid in its time of urgent need, at an event aimed at increasing trade and investment and strengthening relations between the two countries.

‘For considering the urgent need of the people of Sri Lanka and the Government, and providing a US$ 1 billion credit line, US$ 500 million facility for the purchase of fuel, US$ 400 million currency swap and the deferment of US$ 500 million Asian Clearing Union (ACU) payment, totalling US$ 2.4 billion, I thank you on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka’, he emphasised.

Mr. Govindasamy was addressing a forum titled India-Sri Lanka Partnership for Sustained Growth, on the theme of ‘Enhancing Economic Engagement for Mutual Benefit’ organised by the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Indo-Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ILCCI), and the Indian CEO Forum (ICF).

The Chief Guest at the event was Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena, while the High Commissioner for India in Sri Lanka, H E Gopal Baglay also graced the occasion.

Highlighting the long-standing and warm relationship between India and Sri Lanka, Mr. Govindasamy emphasised that ‘India is also recognised as a key investment partner of Sri Lanka, with a number of leading Indian firms having established a business presence in Sri Lanka through investment linkages’.

 He welcomed further opportunities to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries, drawing particular attention to investing in Economic Zones in Sri Lanka, in manufacturing and services sectors such as pharmaceuticals, IT, tourism and leisure, logistics, apparel, food processing, electronics, medical devices and automobile components.

Highlighting strong potential for enhancing bilateral trade and cooperation between India and Sri Lanka, he added that the Ceylon Chamber, with its focus on fostering greater collaboration in bilateral trade relations, has been working tirelessly to ‘improve the frequency and content of trade-related activities to reflect this greater interaction between Sri Lanka and India’.

Several senior representatives of the government and private sectors of India and Sri Lanka, including the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Invest India and other investment focused institutions from India made presentations at the event, with a common theme highlighted being the high potential for increasing bilateral trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. 

In addition to investment opportunities in the sectors highlighted above, the presenters invited investment and collaboration in aquaculture, healthcare, education, agriculture, food processing and textiles in addition to a plethora of other sectors offering promising potential.

Similar opportunities for collaboration were highlighted by the CEO and Secretary General of the Ceylon Chamber, . Manjula de Silva, at a meeting hosted by the Chamber earlier the same day with a delegation representing the CII, at which the visiting delegation expressed keenness to forge business linkages in several areas of commerce and technology.

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