The Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera states that nearly 120,000 metric tons of electrical and electronic waste were released into the environment last year.

The Minister said that in this situation a national policy should be formulated to collect electrical and electronic waste.

The Minister said that the situation is understandable from the audit report held in 2019.

The Consumer Affairs Authority has issued a special notice to customers who wish to return partially used, defective and suspicious gas cylinders.

It is as follows.

Principals across the country will go on strike next Friday (28) demanding the elimination of salary anomalies.

The Principals’ Union says they are going on a token strike demanding a solution to the salary circular issued by the Secretary of Education on January 5, alleging that a serious financial injustice has been done to the graded principals.

Piyasiri Fernando, a representative of the Principals’ Union, said that the token strike was being carried out as the education authorities had not taken any action to rectify the financial injustice done to the grading principals.

As the second step, we are going to organize a massive protest in front of the Ministry of Education on the third of February, he said.

The French Ambassador to Sri Lanka Eric Lavatu says that he is pleased that Sri Lanka has teamed up with France to present a better product to the world.

Minister of Plantation Dr. Ramesh Pathirana and the French Ambassador to Sri Lanka EH Eric Lavertu made this observation during an inspection tour of the Rubber Research Institute at the Darting Field Estate, Agalawatta on the 25th.

The purpose of this visit was to explore the preparations for the pilot project to strengthen the economy of small rubber plantation owners in Sri Lanka using the latest technology.

The project is being implemented with financial and technical assistance from the French Ministry of Economy.

This project is to be implemented on behalf of small rubber estate owners in Ampara and Moneragala districts.

First, 6000 rubber small-estate owners in the Moneragala District were trained on how to apply modern technology to rubber cultivation.

The Minister of Plantation Dr. Ramesh Pathirana stated that the country is currently earning a large income from the export of rubber-related products.

He said that his ministry would extend its fullest support to the President’s drive to develop the country’s manufacturing sector, adding that the current government has a definite long-term plan to develop the country’s manufacturing sector.

Minister Ramesh Pathirana has said that the price of rubber in the country has come down in 2019 and many people have been reluctant to join the rubber cultivation due to this.

However, the situation changed with the coming to power of the present government, he said, adding that 7.5 metric tons of rubber had been exported in the year 2020.

The Minister appreciated the support extended by the French Government for the betterment of rubber cultivation in the country and stated that he expects that support in the future as well.

Speaking on the occasion, the French Ambassador to Sri Lanka Eric Lavertu said that the Government of France is ready to assist at any time in the development of the Sri Lankan manufacturing sector.

Recalling the friendship between the two countries, the Ambassador said that he was grateful to the President and the Government for joining hands with his country for such an innovative project.

Kanaka Herath, Minister of State for Establishment Rehabilitation, Tea and Rubber Crops Cultivation and Industrial Modernization and Promotion of Tea and Rubber Exports stated that rubber cultivation in the Kalutara District has been reduced from 1,200 hectares to 1,100 hectares.

The State Minister said that the reason for this was the various problems faced by rubber cultivators in the recent past and added that the present government is committed to developing rubber cultivation by solving those problems.

He said the government was working with a long-term plan to develop rubber cultivation in the country and thanked the French government for its support to the current government, led by the President, in implementing those plans.

Tilakaratne Banda, Secretary, State Ministry of Company Establishment Reforms, Tea Estate Crops, Tea Factory Modernization and Tea Export Diversification, Prof. Sudheera Ranwala, Chairperson, Rubber Research Institute, Dr. Lakshman Rodrigo, Director, Rubber Research Institute, Deputy Director Research (Biology) Dr. Vasana Wijesundera and others were present at the occasion.

Dr. Rohantha Abeysekera has recently been appointed as the new General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board.

CEB Chairman Mr.M. C. C. Ferdinando has offered him the appointment.

Dr. Susantha Perera, who was appointed as the Acting General Manager of the CEB, has been removed from his post.

Saumya Kumara Wadu, Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said that due to the continuous struggle of the CEB Engineers’ Association, the right person was given the right place.

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the electricity sector regulator, has decided to reconsider the proposal made by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) on 27th January 2022 on power interruption as there is no need for a power cut from today to 27th of January 2022. It is observed that there are sufficient stocks of fuel to generate electricity during these three (03) days.

Explaining further, Mr. Janaka Ratnayake, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka says, “The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been asked to provide information on existing stocks of fuel and the dates on which they can be delivered to power plants. Sri Lanka is expected to receive a stock of crude oil by the end of this month and after refining the fuel will be supplied to power plants which uses fossil fuels and Naphtha fuel for the generation of electricity. Also, Unit 3 of the Norochcholai power plant, which is currently undergoing renovations, is scheduled to resume for power generation before the end of this month. With that, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka is confident that there will be an uninterrupted electricity supply. In addition, we (The Commission) discussed with the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka finding ways to provide the required foreign exchange for the importation of coal and other fuels. We hope the foreign exchange issue will also be resolved in the future.”

The PUCSL has also recommended a number of short- and medium-term solutions to face the power crisis. The short-term proposals include reducing the demand for electricity through an accelerated power conservation program with the support of electricity consumers.

In addition, steps have already been taken to make effective use of state-owned and private sector-owned generators as a medium-term solution. In Sri Lanka more than 3000 MW of capacity is owned by various state and private organizations and, a methodology will be introduced to supply power efficiently from those generators. Also, the possibility of connecting such generators to the national grid in the future is being studied. The PUCSL has also recommended installing solar and wind power systems as soon as possible.

All private buses plying from Horana have been stepped out from this morning.

The strike was launched opposing the actions of a private bus plying from Pelegoda to Colombo on the Matugama-Horana road for changing its route and starting from Bulathsinhala since a few days ago.

Children attending school as well as the people on duty have been severely affected by the strike.

It is reported that steps have been taken to increase the number of SLTB buses plying from Horana to avoid any inconvenience to the public.