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Fresh protest in Jaffna over poaching by Indian fishermen

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Associations representing fishermen in the north today  staged a protest in front of the Indian Consulate in Jaffna demanding to stop the Indian trawler that were trespassing in the Sri Lankan waters.

They also met the Indian Consul General Sai Murali and handed over a letter.

The move came as the  government was planning to  take up the issue of poaching with the visiting Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishnakar  who is due on June 20 in Colombo.

When President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited New Delhi on June 9 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the matter was also raised in a separate meeting with Minister Dr Jaishnakar as well.

Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda earlier told the Sunday Times that the government will take up the matter with the visiting Indian Foreign Minister this week as the government is consistent with its policy of preventing Indian fishermen from robbing billions worth of fisheries resources from the Northern Sea.

“As a nation, we have to protect our resources, interests and the livelihood of our fisherfolks. I hope to raise the issue in the next Cabinet meeting (June 19) as well,” Minister Devananda said.

Days before the annual breeding ban was lifted, a group of fishermen’s unions based in North handed over a petition on Tuesday to officials at the Indian Consulate General office in Jaffna requesting them to make immediate steps to prevent Indian fishermen coming into Sri Lankan waters at the expense of their livelihood.

The fishermen unions which formed a collective outfit as Northen Fishermen’s Allaince requested President Wickremesinghe in a petition urged authorities to “expedite their maximum efforts to monitoring and preventing the daily incursion of thousands of Tamil Nadu trawlers every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings,”

The two-month-long ban came into effect from April 14 onwards and was lifted on Friday is enforced to facilitate the breeding of fish banks in the ocean and maintain the equilibrium of marine sources for sustainability.

Currently, Indian fishermen who engage in fishing in Sri Lankan territorial waters are arrested by the Navy and Coast Guard and subjected to legal action after their trawlers are seized.

Following the legal action in which the Magistrate courts hand in a suspended sentence of eighteen months for engaging in fishing without a license, fishermen are released and repatriated through the assistance of Indian diplomatic missions.

(sundaytimes.lk)

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

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Lohan Ratwatte transferred to prison hospital 

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Former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, who was arrested and remanded on charges of using a luxury car illegally imported from abroad and assembled in Sri Lanka, has been transferred to the prison hospital.

He was arrested by Mirihana Police on October 31 in Katugastota, Kandy.

Ratwatte was subsequently produced before the Acting Magistrate of Nugegoda from the Mirihana Police Station, and was ordered to be remanded until November 7.

However, the Acting Magistrate granted permission for Ratwatte to receive treatment at the prison hospital.

Police said that the former state minister was arrested in Kandy over an incident of discovering an unregistered car at his wife’s house in the Mirihana area of Nugegoda.

The car without registered number plates was found on October 26, 2024, according to police.

Police had found the luxury car in question during an inspection carried out based on information received by the police headquarters that there is a luxury car without number plates in a three-storied house in the Embuldeniya area in Mirihana, belonging to Shashi Prabha Ratwatte, the wife of former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte.

During the investigation, both Ratwatte and his wife had explained to the police that his mother-in-law resides in the said house. They had claimed that the car had been brought there three weeks ago by Ratwatte’s private secretary, who was recently found dead with gunshot injuries in the Katugastota area of Kandy.

(AdaDerana)
(This story, originally published by AdaDerana has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Bell 412 helicopter on standby for KDU bus accident patients

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The Defence Secretary has directed the Sri Lanka Air Force to keep a Bell 412 helicopter ready at the Diyatalawa Air Force Base for the potential airlift of patients injured in the recent bus accident to Colombo for further treatment if needed.

The accident, which occurred at Ambagas Junction on the Dunhinda-Badulla road around 7:45 AM on November 1, involved a bus carrying 42 people from the Kotelawala Defence University’s (KDU) Southern Campus. Among the group were 36 students from the 39th KDU Intake, three lecturers, an instructor, a senior military officer, and the bus driver.

Two female students, residents of Kurunegala and Nivithigala, tragically lost their lives. 

The remaining 40 were admitted to the Badulla General Hospital, with seven in the ICU and one in critical condition.

KDU’s Vice-Chancellor confirmed that arrangements for the funerals will be made with university support. 

Preliminary findings suggest a mechanical fault may have caused the accident, with a detailed investigation underway.

The Ministry of Defence has expressed condolences to the victims’ families and commended the prompt rescue efforts of local residents, as well as the swift response by Dr. Palitha Rajapaksa and the hospital staff.

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(Previous News : November 01, 2024 11.28 am)

2 dead in Badulla bus tragedy

Two persons have been reported dead after a bus carrying a group of university students had toppled across the road at Dunhinda Road in Badulla this morning (Nov. 01).

The accident had occurred between the third and fourth kilometer posts on the Badulla-Mahiyanganaya main road, near the Dunhinda access road, after the bus collided with a bund.

According to reports, the bus was carrying a group of students from the Southern Campus of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), who had been on a field trip.

Over 30 persons injured had been rushed to the Badulla Hospital, reports say.

(Pic : Accident 1st)

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Doctors at Karapitiya Hospital begin 24-hour strike over internal threats

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Doctors at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle have commenced a 24-hour token strike, according to the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA).

GMOA Treasurer Dr. Ubhaya Bandara Warakagoda stated that the strike was initiated in protest over threats made by a doctor against several other doctors of the hospital.

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