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Emergency Call Service to aid fishermen in distress

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The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Bill submitted to amend the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996 was approved by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Food Security and Agriculture.

This approval was given when the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Food Security and Agriculture met in Parliament recently under the chairmanship of MP D. Weerasinghe.

The meeting was attended by a group of officials including the Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and youth representatives appointed for the Sectoral Oversight Committee.

In the case of illegal, unreported and informal fishing, only the license holder is found guilty under existing legal provisions. But the Fisheries Act has not interpreted who the license holder is. Due to this, obstacles have arisen in taking legal action.

Officials said that through the new amendments, in addition to the boat owner, skipper of the boat, any person onboard are also guilty of that offence. The officials added that fishermen associations have also requested to amend these provisions.

The Bill was challenged in the Supreme Court following the first reading in Parliament on July 5, 2023 by Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda.
Accordingly, according to the determination given by the Supreme Court, the amendments to be presented in the committee of the Bill were also discussed and approved.

Furthermore, when fishing boats are involved in accidents, there are no officials appointed by the ministry to provide immediate relief to the victims and take legal action, MP Weerasinghe pointed out.
Officials said that there are fisheries offices in 15 coastal districts for which fisheries inspectors and development officers have been appointed. Also, the officials pointed out that the support of the Navy will be obtained in all areas. However, since people coming from other areas may not know the fisheries inspectors of the respective area, the chairman of the committee recommended that steps be taken to introduce an Emergency Call Service that fishermen in any area can call immediately in case of accidents.

Apart from this, matters related to granting permission for temporary rest areas for fishermen built along the coast, quality of fishing boats, insurance for boats and fresh water fish farming were also discussed.

MPs Sudath Manjula, Kapila Athukorala, Kins Nelson and Lalith Waranakumara participated in the meeting.

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Pillayan had prior knowledge of Easter attacks – Minister (Video)

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Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala says that investigations have revealed that Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias “Pilleyan”, had prior knowledge of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Making a special statement in Parliament today (July 09), the minister pointed out that Pilleyan was in custody at the Batticaloa Prison when the attacks took place, and that strong evidence exists that he had prior knowledge of the attacks.

(Video : Voicetube)

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Student held under PTA for nine months to be produced in court

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The case of a 21-year-old student detained for nearly nine months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) will be taken up in court today (July 9).

Mohamed Rifai Mohamed Suhail, an aviation student from Mawanella, was arrested in October 2024 after posting a video on Instagram showing the Israeli flag being trampled, BBC Sinhala reported.

He was initially taken into custody by Dehiwala Police near the Israeli consular office for failing to carry his national identity card and later released when the document was produced in court.

However, Suhail was re-arrested and remanded under the PTA in connection with the Instagram video, despite the court previously releasing him without bail. His lawyer alleges that no formal charges have been filed and no evidence has been presented by police to support the detention.

The prolonged incarceration has drawn criticism from rights groups, legal experts, and the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, which has been formally notified. Meanwhile, Suhail’s family has lodged a complaint, calling for his immediate release.

(dailymirror.lk)

(This story, originally published by dailymirror.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Injured Wanindu ruled out of Bangladesh T20I series

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Sri Lanka’s T20I captain Wanindu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh after suffering a hamstring injury to his right leg.

The injury occurred while he was batting during the third and final ODI of the recently concluded series.

Following a medical evaluation, Hasaranga will return to Colombo to undergo rehabilitation at Sri Lanka Cricket’s High Performance Centre.

Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed that no replacement will be added to the T20I squad in his absence.

(dailynews.lk)

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

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