News

Govt. to set up mechanism to prevent & control forest fires

Published

2 years ago

September 26, 2023

editor

Taking into consideration the number of forest fires reported in the recent past, the Cabinet has approved a proposal to implement a programme to prevent the occurrence of forest fires and extinguish forest fires.

Government said that there is a rapidly increasing risk of forest fire caused by man-made fires around forests, especially during dry weather conditions.

“This situation is common in Badulla, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Monaragala, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala, Puttalam and Rathnapura Districts. The number of forest fires reported so far this year is about 150. As a result, around 2,600 hectares of forests have been destroyed,” it said.

Accordingly, the Cabinet approved a proposal presented by the Forest and Wildlife Conservation Minister to implement a programme with the support of the government and other relevant parties from the national-level to the rural-level to prevent the occurrence of forest fires and extinguish forest fires.

News

Former Eastern Provincial Council member arrested

Published

6 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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Ampara District Organizer of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal party and former member of the Eastern Provincial Council K. Pushpakumar alias Iniya Bharathi has been arrested.

He was arrested over the abduction and disappearance of the former Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University Prof. Subramaniyam Ravindranath.

Sivanathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) and former State Minister, was arrested by the Colombo Criminal Investigation Department at his office in Batticaloa on April 8, over this incident.

He was later detained for 3 months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Iniya Bharathi, also known as Kumaraswamy Pushpakumar, was arrested based on information revealed during the interrogation of Pillayan.

News

e-Revenue Licence system down due to technical glitch, ICTA says

Published

6 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) said the electronic Revenue Licence system (eRL 2.0) is currently unavailable due to a critical technical infrastructure issue.

According to the ICTA, the disruption began on July 3, 2025, and has made vehicle revenue licence issuing services inaccessible.

The unavailability is expected to continue until July 9, 2025.

The ICTA expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the public and assured that technical teams are working urgently to resolve the issue.

The agency also said that further updates will be shared as work progresses, with an official notice to be issued once services are restored.