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Northern Railway Line to be closed for 6 months from January?

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Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana said that it has been decided to close down the Northern Railway Line from next January and modernise it within six months.

He expressed these views while speaking at a news conference held at the Presidential Media Centre yesterday (04).

“The northern railway line was temporarily closed from January to upgrade the tracks from Anuradhapura to Kankesanthurai. Further upgrades are scheduled on this northern track from Mahawa to Anuradhapura in January 2024. Once these upgrades are completed, trains on the northern track would be able to operate at a speed of 100km per hour from Colombo to Kankesanthurai,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the restoration work of the railway track from Colombo to Panadura will commence within the next few days.

He said a loan agreement is to be signed under Indian loan assistance for the modernisation of the signalling system. A renovation process to increase the speed by removing the speed limits of the Kelani Valley Railway Line will commence from the first week of this month.

He said a Cabinet paper has been presented to replace issuance of tickets with electronic cards.

“When you transact using advanced technology such as a card or QR system instead of cash, you could increase the income of each of these institutions by at least 50%,” he said.

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CoI on Deshabandu concludes examining evidence by both parties

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The examination of evidence by both the Respondent and the Prosecution before the Committee of Inquiry concluded.

The Committee recommends that both parties submit their written submissions to the Committee of Inquiry before 3:30 p.m. on the 8th of July.

Examining evidence before the Committee of Inquiry to inquire and report its findings on IGP T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon in respect of acts of gross abuse of power, concluded yesterday (July 01), with the presentation of evidence by both the Respondent, representing Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon and the Prosecution.

The Committee of Inquiry, chaired by Supreme Court Judge P.P. Surasena and comprising Justice W.M.N.P. Iddawala and E.W.M. Lalith Ekanayake, Chairman, National Police Commission, convened today, during which, testimonies were obtained from two additional witnesses by the Prosecution.

These two witnesses had been overseas on official duty. Thus, in accordance with the prior agreement between the two parties, reached to obtain the evidence post June 26, held before the Committee of Inquiry with the participation of Additional Solicitor General (President’s Counsel) Dileepa Peiris and 

Deputy Solicitor General Rajitha Perera, representing the Attorney General’s Department, and R.S. Weerawickrama Attorney-at-Law, appearing on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, it was decided to record the statements of these two witnesses today.Furthermore, both the Prosecution in representation of the Attorney General’s Department and the Respondent Inspector General of Police agreed to submit their respective written submissions to the Committee of Inquiry before 3:30 p.m. on July 08, 2025.

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Govt to present 2026 Appropriation Bill in October

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Cabinet approval has been granted to a proposal presented by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Minister of Finance , Planning and Economic Development to present the Appropriation Bill for the year 2026 to Parliament in October 2025.

Approval has also been granted to present the Budget speech in November 2025 and to hold the third reading and budget debate during November and December.

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This week’s Cabinet decisions

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A number of decisions have been taken at the Cabinet meeting held yesterday (July 01).

The decisions taken by the Cabinet of Ministers are as follows :

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