The Coconut Cultivation Board has launched a mobile sales truck program with the aim of providing coconuts to consumers at affordable prices.

This mobile sales program has been initiated in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife, Forest Resources, Water Supply, Plantations, and Community Infrastructure to address the difficulties faced by consumers due to the current high coconut prices.

The first phase of the program will be implemented today (23), focusing on areas such as Colombo, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, and Kaduwela Municipal Council limits.

According to the Ministry, coconuts will be available at a lower price via mobile trucks in locations such as near the Welikada Police Station in the Colombo area, Kirulapone Public Market, and the vicinity of the Ministry of Finance.

In the Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Municipal Council area, the mobile program will be operating near the Ananda Samarakoon open-air theater in Nugegoda, while in the Kaduwela and Battaramulla areas, coconuts will be available near the Sethsiripaya Government Office Complex and the vicinity of the Coconut Cultivation Board headquarters in Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha.

This initiative will allow citizens in major cities to purchase coconuts at a reduced price, and the program will be extended to cover all districts in the future. The Coconut Cultivation Board plans to supply 10,000 coconuts to the market daily and gradually increase to 15,000 coconuts per week, depending on demand.

In addition, the Kurunegala Plantation Company has prepared to supply 1,500 coconuts daily, starting yesterday (22), and the Chilaw Plantation Company has agreed to provide 3,000 coconuts daily. The Ministry also stated that the expected price for a coconut will be between Rs. 100 and Rs. 120 for consumers.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that there are no plans to change the controlled price of rice.

He pointed out that there is a long-term plan being implemented to provide more benefits to farmers.

President Dissanayake made these comments during a discussion held yesterday (22) at the Presidential Secretariat with rice traders and officials from the Department of Agriculture.

The current prices of consumer goods were a key focus of the discussion, particularly the need to maintain the controlled price of rice, which is a staple food for the people.

The President emphasized that since paddy had already been purchased from farmers following the imposition of the controlled price, it would be unfair to now change the price of rice.

He further highlighted the need for a proper mechanism to ensure that paddy is purchased from farmers at a fair price and that rice is sold to consumers at a reasonable price.

President Dissanayake noted that the artificial rise in rice prices was a result of not maintaining controlled prices in the long term, leading to price instability.

The discussion also addressed issues regarding stockpilers and the need to register such intermediaries, for which the President directed the agricultural officials to take necessary steps.

Additionally, attention was given to reducing the cost of loans for small and medium-sized rice mill owners to help them overcome financial difficulties.

Representatives from rice mill owners’ associations, including Dudley Sirisena, Nipuna Gamlath, Mithrapala Lankeshwara, Jayasiri Gunathilake, and Menaka Gamlath, along with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, participated in the discussion.

The Cabinet, led by the President, has decided to increase the limit on the Anti-Corruption Commission’s bribery raid advance fund.

The Bribery Commission maintains an advance fund to support the raids they conduct as part of their investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption. The current expenditure limit for this advance fund is Rs. 50 million.

Given the nature of recent bribery complaints and the fact that the amount involved in bribery cases can sometimes be quite high, it has become evident that the current limit is insufficient. The government believes that the expenditure limit needs to be urgently revised.

As a result, the Cabinet has approved the President’s proposal to increase the maximum expenditure limit of the bribery raid advance fund to Rs. 150 million.

Minister Vijitha Herath says that the stock of new foreign passports received in Sri Lanka will be distributed from today (21).

He claims that this will end the queues for passports.

With the 750,000 foreign passports ordered soon to run out, another passport crisis is likely.

Therefore, it was decided in the special cabinet meeting held on the 11th to go to a procurement process for providing normal passports and import more passports according to a tender procedure.

A special discussion has been called under the chairmanship of President Anura Dissanayake regarding the rising prices of food items including rice, eggs and coconuts in the market.

It is scheduled to be held today (22) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture mentions that there is an increase in the price of rice in the market and there is a shortage of Nadu rice.

The secretary also claims that a control price of 220 rupees per kg of Nadu rice was used, but due to the rise in the price of Nadu rice, the rice mill owners say that they are unable to sell at this control price.

He also said that the discussion will focus on issues such as the increase in food prices.

Udaya Gammanpila, the leader of Pivithuru Hela Urumya, says that the 7-day period he had given the government will end at 10 am today (21) as the president or the current government has not made public the investigation reports on the Easter Sunday bombing.

On the 14th, he called a special news conference and announced that he has the two presidential investigation reports that have not been made public about the Easter Sunday bombing and that if the president does not make them public within a week, he will make those reports public within 7 days.

Meanwhile, Udaya Gammanpila, the leader of Pivithuru Hela Urumya, said in a news conference yesterday (20) that there is still time for the president to avoid the risk of impeachment against him by presenting the so far unpublished reports about the Easter attack.

Police report that a wealthy businessman, his wife, and their 15-year-old daughter were murdered inside their home on Singhapura Road, Chilaw, and their bodies were set on fire.

This crime is believed to have occurred in the early hours of today and is suspected to have been carried out by a group of two to three people. Investigations revealed that the wife’s head was almost severed from her body.

Police and fire brigade officers discovered the crime scene while responding to a call about a house fire on Singhapura Road. The investigation uncovered the bodies of the wife in a downstairs bedroom, while the businessman and the daughter were found among debris in the living room.

The victims have been identified as 52-year-old businessman S.G. Senarathna, his 43-year-old wife Manjula Niroshani, and their 15-year-old daughter Nethmi Nimesha. The businessman was involved in buying and selling land, while his wife worked as a development officer at the Chilaw Divisional Secretariat. Their daughter was a 10th-grade student at Ananda National School, Chilaw.

The police stated that household items were placed on top of the bodies and set on fire. The motive behind the murders is still unknown, and several special police teams have been deployed to investigate the incident.

The All Ceylon Egg Producers Association says that the retail price of an egg may decrease from 45 to 35 rupees.

The association informs that the price will be lowered by Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Earlier, the price of an egg had been reduced by 10 rupees, but again, the price had gone up quickly, exceeding the limit of 50 rupees.

04 special days have been designated for the distribution of official ballot papers for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The Election Commission says that October 27, 31 and November 03, 07 have been reserved for these activities.

The commission also informs that the voters who have not received the official voter notices after November 7th can get the official voter notices after declaring their identity at the post office related to the registered address of the 2024 voter list.

Former Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, publicly acknowledged during a gathering held at Galle Fort today (18) that out of the 10,000 overseas job opportunities, 2,000 were specifically allocated to Galle, giving special consideration to the youth of the area.

A portion of his speech has been shared on his Facebook account.

“In recent times, there have been numerous accusations when discussing foreign employment. Claims were made that people were charged money to go to foreign countries. We are now saying publicly, did we offer jobs at Balapitiya? Did anyone take money?” (He asks a parent of someone who migrated abroad, who replies with a ‘no’).

Nanayakkara also asked a few others whether money was taken when their sons were sent abroad, to which they replied ‘no.’

“We only provided government money, and that too as bank loans. Yet, accusations were made. However, one thing is certain: most of the people sent abroad were from Galle. If not for that, what would be the point of me being a Member of Parliament for Galle? If 10,000 people were sent abroad, then 2,000 of them were from Galle. It doesn’t matter. The people of Galle voted for me. If I don’t work for the people who voted for me, then why should I be a Member of Parliament? It’s the right thing to do. That’s how jobs should be given,” he said.

Twelve vehicles, including an ambulance and eight other vehicles, provided for the security of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, were suddenly taken back to the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (18). These vehicles, allocated for the highest-ranking officials facing life threats, were withdrawn.

Recently, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake appointed a three-member committee to review the privileges, entitlements, and allowances of former presidents, ministers, and members of parliament. The committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge K.T. Chitrasiri, with retired ministry secretary D. Dissanayake and retired district secretary Jayanta Bulumulla as members, is tasked with this evaluation.

While Mahinda Rajapaksa had communicated the necessity of these vehicles for security reasons, the vehicles were taken back before the committee could finalize and submit its recommendations for cabinet approval.

According to the law on privileges and allowances for former presidents, they are entitled to a pension, an official residence, three vehicles with fuel, and a private secretary’s salary. In addition, Rajapaksa had been provided with extra vehicles and security due to life threats.

It is also reported that non-entitled expenses, such as water and electricity bills for former presidents, had been paid by the government in recent times.

In 2023, a total of 800 million Sri Lankan Rupees was spent on maintaining Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Hema Premadasa (wife of the late Ranasinghe Premadasa).

The Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government states that 14 out of the 28 ministers who were given official residences have been handed over their houses so far.

With the appointment of Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the office of President, a government of the National People’s Power (Malimawa) was replaced by the previous government and it is reported that they are still living in houses that can be taken as official quarters belonging to that government.

According to reliable sources, the ministers who had not paid the water bills and electricity bills have delayed handing over the quarters because the government had informed them not to accept the quarters without paying the outstanding water bills and electricity bills of several crores of rupees.

However, legal action will be taken against the former ministers who continue to avoid the notification of the ministry.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Senior Professor Kapila Seneviratne as the new Chairman of the University Grants Commission.

President’s Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake handed over the appointment letter to him today (18) at the Presidential Secretariat.

In addition, Senior Professor KL Wasantha Kumara has been appointed as the new Vice-Chairman of the University Grants Commission, and Senior Professors Rahula Athalage, OG Dayaratne, Subramaniyam Raviraj and President’s Attorney KCW Unambuwa have been appointed as its other members.

Former Member of Parliament Nalinda Jayatissa states that if a good country has been handed over to his government, there is no need to borrow money.

He alleges that the country is stuck in total debt and has not generated any revenue.

He said that they will be paid properly in the future.

He said that the current government is taking loans within the loan limit passed by the parliament and that the economy is being managed with the loans taken.

Former President and United National Party leader Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe is scheduled to make a special statement on Thursday the 17th.

This is the first time the former president has made a statement since the presidential election held in September.

Mr. Wickramasinghe is going to comment on the current political situation and future plans.

It is reported that the former president has decided not to contest the next general election and will also give up coming to parliament from the national list.

However, several parties that supported him are going to contest under the Gas Cylinder symbol as the New Democratic Front.

The Election Commission says that the minimum amount that can be spent by one candidate in the General Election will be announced today (16) through the Gazette.

Arrangements have been made to get the preference numbers of the candidates related to the parliamentary elections today (16) from the respective district secretariats.

The Election Commission has received the preference lists of all the districts.

The Election Commission says that steps have been taken to check the preference lists and send them to the district secretariats.

Meanwhile, a discussion is scheduled to be held today between the secretaries of the ministries and the chairmen of all the corporations and boards to give instructions regarding the implementation of the orders related to the general election.

Actor Kamal Addararachchi, who is contesting as a candidate in the upcoming general election, has responded to what he claims are ongoing smear campaigns against him.

Here is his statement:

“In accordance with the fundamental human rights that we all are entitled to, I am preparing to face the decisive 2024 general election for the first time. However, it has become increasingly clear that a malicious and unethical smear campaign is being orchestrated against me, likely driven by ulterior motives and the need to fulfill narrow political agendas.

It appears that certain individuals, motivated by political opportunism, are trying to exploit two unfortunate incidents from over two decades ago, even though the judicial proceedings related to one of those incidents were taken to the Supreme Court, where a fair and just investigation cleared me of all accusations. Despite the legal verdicts and my complete exoneration, they are deliberately ignoring these facts. In doing so, they are not only attacking me but also disrespecting the judiciary.

These individuals or groups, perhaps frustrated by my decision to join a progressive, left-leaning, humanist political movement — the ‘Second Generation’ party — appear to be enraged and fearful, thinking that my decision impacts them deeply. Consequently, they have resorted to spreading false information and launching shameless smear campaigns, with some online websites and YouTube channels attempting to tarnish my reputation. I am sharing this note with the hope and belief that educated and intelligent people will recognize and understand the truth behind these attacks.”

The members including the chairman of the University Grants Commission have resigned from their positions.

Accordingly, the Chairman of the University Grants Commission Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunga and the Vice Chairman Senior Professor Chandana P. Udawatta have resigned from their respective positions with effect from yesterday.

It is reported that the relevant resignation letters were forwarded to the President yesterday (14) afternoon.