News

Country spends 75% of income on food but only 20% eat well

Published

2 years ago

October 19, 2022

editor

The National Council’s sub-committee on identifying short- and medium-term programmes related to economic stabilization disclosed that 75% of the country’s income is spent on food. However, only 1/5th of the country’s population gets a proper diet with nutritional value.

This was discussed when the sub-committee met in Parliament yesterday (18) under the chairmanship of MP Patali Champika Ranawaka.

The meeting was called to seek expert views on food security and nutrition security, need for fertilizer, decline in the harvest, malnutrition and its possible social consequences.

The short-term and mid-term measures that can be taken to overcome this situation were discussed during the meeting, especially since the malnutrition situation in the country for about ten years has escalated with the current economic crisis, the Communication Department of Parliament said.

Accordingly, the sub-committee Chairman informed the Finance Ministry to conduct a survey on income and household expenditure immediately.

The Chairman said that this survey has not been conducted after 2019 and that it will provide accurate information about the social consequences of this economic crisis and that information will be vital in taking future action.

It was also discussed that even if the income could be increased through measures such as tax increases in the country, the problem of sustaining industries, job losses and declining nutrition conditions will have a severe impact as side effects.

News

SLFP crisis : 2 more court orders

Published

10 mins ago

April 24, 2024

editor

The Colombo District Court today (April 24) delivered an injunction preventing former President Maithripala Sirisena from functioning as the chairman of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

The order was issued with regard to a complaint filed by former SLFP executive committee member Montague Sarathchandra.

Accordingly, the injunction will be effective until the conclusion of the trial.

Meanwhile, the court order preventing the SLFP Executive Committee from ousting its members Mahinda Amaraweera, Duminda Dissanayake, and Lasantha Alagiyawanna from their respective party positions has also been extended.

Accordingly, the interim injunction will be in place until May 08 on the orders of the Colombo District Court.

Colombo District Judge Sandun Withana delivered this extension when a complaint filed by the three MPs was taken up this morning (24).

News

SLARDAR condemns arrest of Fox Hill racers

Published

15 mins ago

April 24, 2024

editor

Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR) has condemned the arrests of the car drivers over the recent Fox Hill motorsport racing event accident, in which seven people were killed.

Seven individuals were killed and 23 others were injured after a car hurtled into spectators at the ‘Fox Hill Super Cross 2024’ event held in Diyathalawa on Sunday.

The drivers of two cars involved in accidents at the race were arrested and remanded over the incident.

Speaking to reporters, Sajaad Zuhair of SLARDAR said it has become an issue as the Police have deemed it a problem of the car drivers.

However, the preparations of the racetrack and crowd control are the responsibilities of the organizers, and as competitors, the racers cannot do anything about it, he explained.

Commenting on the incident, Zuhair said the drivers have been blamed for not slowing down upon seeing the yellow flag, adding “ Racers cannot immediately slow down once they see the flag. They can only slow down a few distances after seeing the flag”.

“Once a car had toppled the organizers should have resorted to showing the red flag if they were unable to immediately remove the vehicle off the track. The car toppled inside the track and not outside. The accident is a result of the public moving onto the tracks and not because of a car going off track,” he added.

Stating that it was unfair for the racers to be arrested over the incident, Sajaad Zuhair further said that the organizers must take responsibility for the accident and not pass the blame onto other persons.

(newswire.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by newswire.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)