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House Sparrows have disappeared from 18 districts!

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Research conducted in the last 04 decades have revealed that the humble House Sparrow has disappeared from 18 districts in the country.

This was revealed by Environmentalist and Attorney-At-Law – Jagath Gunawardena, who was addressing a programme at the Science Faculty of the University of Colombo, which marked the World Sparrow Day.

He further noted that following a request made to the Ministry of Environment, the House Sparrow has been declared as a protected species.

He added that the slow disappearance of the House Sparrow had begun with the spraying of the insecticide called Malathion to combat Malaria. With the increased use of mosquito coils in the 1990s, the bird had gradually become extinct in the Uva, South and Central provinces as the chemicals in the coils had severely affected their egg producing levels.

At the present, the House Sparrow had become a rare species with the same trend being reported from India as well.

Meanwhile, Nisali Dayananda of the Young Zoologists’ Association, who had conducted a research on House Sparrows, had also said that losing habitat is also a  major factor in their fallen numbers.

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No vehicles or vehicle permits for MPs – President

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Parliamentarians will not receive vehicles or vehicle permits this year, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.

He said this while delivering the 2025 Budget speech in Parliament today (Feb. 17).

The President also added that measures will be taken to auction off all luxury vehicles in the state sector in March 2025.

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Human Immunoglobulin case : Lab reports from India & Germany received

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Sri Lanka has received laboratory reports from India and Germany regarding the human immunoglobulin drug.

The police confirmed that a team of officers had traveled to those countries to obtain the reports.

The Attorney General’s Department stated that the reports will be used as evidence, and a final decision on the case will be made after they are thoroughly examined.

(News1st)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by News1st has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Train numbers in daily operations to be upped to reduce delays

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Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways, Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, announced that steps are being taken to increase the number of locomotives in daily operations to reduce train delays ahead of the introduction of electric trains in Sri Lanka

He emphasized the importance of improving train punctuality, stating that the government is actively addressing service cancellations. Currently, Sri Lanka operates around 217 to 220 daily train services, with 17 to 20 cancellations on average. The goal is to minimize cancellations and maintain consistent operations.

Dr. Gunasena noted that while the country typically requires 60 to 70 locomotives for smooth daily operations, only 45 to 50 have been available in recent times. However, efforts are underway to increase this number, with the expectation that over 60 locomotives will be in service by the end of February.

Additionally, he highlighted that currently, 52% of trains operate on schedule, while 17% experience delays exceeding 10 minutes, and 10% are delayed by more than 30 minutes. The government aims to improve these figures by enhancing locomotive availability and efficiency.

(dailynews.lk)

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

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