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‘Aluth Sahal Mangalya’ held at Sri Maha Bodhiya (Pics)

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The National New Paddy Harvest Festival, known as the ‘Aluth Sahal Mangalya’, was held at the historic Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya in Anuradhapura yesterday (02), under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

This festival is a longstanding tradition where the first harvested paddy of the Maha season is offered to the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya. The event was organized for the 56th time by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Services, under the guidance of the Chief Incumbent of the Atamasthana, Venerable Pallegema Hemarathana Thera.
Many farmers from different parts of the country attended the traditional ceremony with the hope of receiving blessings from nature and the Triple Gem. Their wish was for timely showers, bountiful harvests, and a prosperous economy for the country and the nation.

After the traditional ceremony, the President paid his respects to the sacred Sri Maha Bodhiya and received blessings. The procession followed the ancient traditions and began near the Anuradhapura Lion Pillar before entering the Sri Maha Bodhiya premises through the Welimaluwa.

It is a traditional custom for the Atamasthanadipati Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera to fill the golden offertory bowl with fresh rice from various regions of the country, accompanied by the chanting of Seth Pirith by the Maha Sangha. During this year’s ceremony, President Ranil Wickremesinghe also participated in the filling of the golden bowl with rice.

That is an interesting and significant cultural practice for the offering of pure bee’s honey and ghee which is a way of showing respect and gratitude to the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya, which is considered one of the most revered Buddhist relics in Sri Lanka. It also reflects the importance of nature and the traditional agricultural practices that are deeply ingrained in Sri Lankan culture.

Mr. Chinthana Wilegoda, Chairman of the Traditional Rice Farmers’ Protection Organization, presented President Wickremesinghe with a bundle of rice pods that corresponded to his age. The President then distributed region-specific seeds and rice varieties to farmers from all nine provinces. Additionally, the President received a digital copy of the 56th National ‘Aluth Sahal Mangalya’ commemorative edition.

The Atamasthanadhipathi, Nuwara Kalaviya Chief Sanghanayake Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera delivering a special exhortation said;

The farmers have expressed their grievances about the inadequate prices they are receiving for their crops. We are empathetic to the challenges faced by farmers.

A substantial amount of funding has been allocated by the government towards supporting the agriculture industry and farmers. It is imperative to address the issues faced by farmers in order to advance the country as a whole. Providing effective solutions to farmers’ problems has the potential to resolve many of the issues plaguing the nation.

There is a need to modernize agriculture and promote sustainable practices by equipping farmers with modern knowledge and techniques. The current president possesses the necessary leadership qualities to drive this initiative forward. This endeavour transcends politics and is a crucial step towards progress for the entire nation.

Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera also expressed his views;

Upon assuming office, the President inherited a situation where farmers were protesting on the streets, indicating the gravity of the issues they faced. The President took charge in such circumstances. When the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture was entrusted to me by the President, he instructed to ensure the timely supply of fertilizer to farmers to enhance crop yield for both the Yala and Maha seasons.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe had forewarned about an impending global food crisis. Consequently, he held discussions with the Indian Government to secure the required fertilizer for the Maha season. It was only due to his personal intervention that we were able to obtain the necessary fertilizer from India.

 As a result of his efforts, we were successful in providing the necessary urea fertilizer for the Maha season, and we even distributed the stock received from the Chinese Government to farmers, free of charge. This enabled us to achieve our target harvest during the Maha season, and we were able to produce 3.3 million metric tons of rice. In gratitude for this success, we offer our gratitude at the Sacred Sri Maha Bodhiya. Moreover, we have been advised by the President to reach out to farmers and provide them with relief instead of requiring them to come to our offices.

We are currently developing a QR code system for farmers to provide them with relevant allowances and subsidies seamlessly. Additionally, we have already discussed reducing the price of herbicides by 10% in the future. We are also exploring the possibility of introducing a third season for cultivation, in addition to the current Yala and Maha seasons. The third season has already commenced in the Hambantota district, where it is being cultivated as an alternative crop, rather than paddy. We encourage farmers from other districts to apply for this third season as well.

We are also planning to incorporate modern technology into agriculture. Our goal is to transition crops that traditionally required 2.5 acres to grow to a more modern, efficient system that can be achieved in just half an acre of land.

We have successfully promoted the cultivation of sour bananas as an export crop, and we are currently exporting one container of sour bananas every Saturday. We aim to increase this export volume to two containers by next month.

The President has allocated a total of 56,000 million rupees towards the development of the agriculture industry. This presents an opportunity to modernize the industry and introduce new technologies. In the past, we used to rely on credit to obtain fertilizer, but the President has taken steps to pay off this debt. With these efforts, we aim to establish agriculture as a major economic foundation for our country. We are all committed to achieving this goal.

Chancellor of the Rajarata University,  Ruwanweli Chaityaramadhipathi Venerable Ethalavetunu Weve Gnanathilaka Thera, The Maha Sangha, including the Chief incumbent of the Lankarama Viharaya Venerable  Ralapanawe Dhammajothi, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Ports and Shipping Nimal Siripala de Silva, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe, Member of Parliament SM Chandrasena, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Staff to the President, Sagala Ratnayake, Governor of North Central Province Mahipala Herath and other officials attended this event.

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UK’s relaxed trade rules to boost SL exports

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The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries like Sri Lanka after upgrades to the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).

The changes, announced as part of the UK’s wider Trade for Development offer, aim to support economic growth in partner countries, including Sri Lanka, while helping UK businesses and consumers access high-quality, affordable goods.

New measures include simplifying rules of origin, enabling more goods from countries such as Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and the Philippines can enter the UK tariff-free, even when using components from across Asia and Africa.

These changes are expected to be in place by early 2026.

This move strengthens Sri Lanka’s position in its second-largest apparel market, supporting exports, jobs, and economic growth.

The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick, said: “This is a win for the Sri Lankan garment sector, and for UK consumers. With the UK being the second largest export market and garments making up over 60% of that trade, we know manufacturers here will welcome this announcement.

“We want Sri Lanka to improve the utilisation of the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme for a wider range of goods, not just garments. With the Sri Lankan government’s ambition to grow exports, and with the simplification of rules of origin for other sectors too, we strongly encourage more exporters to explore how they can benefit from the preferences offered by the DCTS. The UK remains committed to working towards creating shared prosperity for both our countries.”

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Pakistan police arrest 149 including 2 Lankans in ‘scam call centre’ raid

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Pakistan police have arrested 149 people in a raid on a scam call centre, the country’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) said on Thursday.

The agency told the BBC it acted after a tip-off about the network, which was operating in the city of Faisalabad.

It said the centre was involved in Ponzi schemes and tricked people into handing over vast sums of money in the name of fake investments.

Those arrested included 78 Pakistanis, 48 Chinese nationals, eight Nigerians, four Filipinos, two Sri Lankans, six Bangladeshis, two Myanmar nationals and one Zimbabwean national.
Eighteen of the 149 were women, the agency added.

A copy of a police report said victims of the alleged scam would initially receive a small return on their first investments, before being persuaded to hand over larger sums of money.

“The charged individuals ran WhatsApp groups where they lured ordinary people by assigning small investment tasks like subscribing to different TikTok and YouTube channels,” the agency said.

“Later, they shifted them to Telegram links for further online tasks requiring larger investments.”

Pakistani citizen Muhammad Sajid told BBC Urdu that he was added to a Telegram channel with tens of thousands of members and was impressed by the company’s work. He said he gave them more than 3.138 million rupees ($36,600) in various instalments.

The raid, which took place on Tuesday, saw authorities seize hundreds of computers, servers, cryptocurrency exchanges and foreign SIM cards from the site.

On Wednesday, 149 suspects appeared in court, 87 of whom were handed over to the NCCIA on a five-day physical remand.

A further 62 suspects have been transferred to the district jail on judicial remand until 23 July.

The agency said the raid was at the residence of Malik Tehseen Awan, the former head of Faisalabad’s power grid, who has not been arrested.

(BBC News)

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Milk tea price upped by Rs. 10

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The All Island Canteen and Restaurant Owners’ Association has announced a Rs. 10 increase in the price of a cup of milk tea.

Association President Harshana Rukshan stated that the decision was made in response to the recent rise in the price of imported milk powder.

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