Professor Chandana Jayaratne, Director of the Astronomy and Space Science Unit of the Physics Department of the University of Colombo, said the last lunar eclipse of this year can be seen this afternoon (08).
Professor Jayaratne said that although it appears as a full lunar eclipse to other countries, it appears as a partial lunar eclipse in Sri Lanka.
“We can see the last part of it as a partial lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs at 1:32 pm. The mid-stage of the eclipse is at 4:29. The end of it is at 5:27. However, we won’t be able to see the beginning of the eclipse because the moon is below the horizon. Moonrise is visible to Sri Lanka at 5:48 pm today from the East but more towards the North. The moon will rise with the eclipse from 5.48 to 6.19 for about 31 minutes. If we look at the eastern horizon, we will be able to see the partial lunar eclipse,” he said.
The National Transport Commission (NTC) has said that an investigation into the recent incident where a student fell from the footboard of a ‘Sisu Sariya’ school bus, has revealed that the accident had resulted from the careless and negligent behaviour of both the driver and the conductor.
Issuing a statement, the NTC noted that, based on the preliminary findings, the Road Passenger Transport Authority of the North Western Province has taken steps to temporarily suspend the services of the driver and conductor involved.
Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation – K.D. Lal Kantha has announced that the government has decided to import 300,000 MT of maize.
Speaking to the media after attending a District Development Committee meeting at the Kandy District Secretariat yesterday (July 03), the Minister explained that this decision was taken to prevent traders from artificially inflating maize prices.
He stated that certain large and medium-scale businesses dealing with animal feed have been hoarding maize, buying it from farmers at fair prices and reselling it at much higher rates.
According to the Minister, these traders were trying to push maize prices up to Rs.190-200 per kilogram, which would have driven up the cost of eggs to Rs.200 each and increased meat prices significantly.
The Minister emphasized that while businesses are entitled to make a profit, the government will not allow unfair price manipulation. He also noted that, in the past, even ministers profited from animal products, but those days have ended and racketeers will not be allowed to control the market.
To prevent excessive price drops that could hurt farmers, the Food Security Committee has proposed imposing a tax on imported maize, he said.
