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Thousands despair as Adani plants shut down in Himachal

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The Himachal Pradesh State was incurring losses worth crores due to the closure of two cement manufacturing plants of the Adani group since December 15, BBC reported.

“I don’t know what our fault is. What have we done to deserve this?” says a distraught Kanta Sharma, pointing to a shuttered cement plant in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

It’s one of two plants – the other is located around 48km (30 miles) away – in Darlaghat that were shut down in December by their owner, Adani Group, leaving thousands of locals without work.

The Adani Group – owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, the world’s third richest man – acquired the factories in September, but soon ended up in a dispute with local transport unions over freight charges. The company said operations had become “unviable” because of the losses it was incurring due to “high transportation costs”.

The stand-off has not just affected the 2,000-3,000 people who were directly employed by these plants, but also thousands of others.

“About 10,000-15,000 people are indirectly dependent on these plants, including truck operators, drivers, cleaners, [workers at] roadside eateries and vehicle repair garages,” said RD Nazeem, the state’s industries and transport secretary.

“These are people who became landless and homeless because they gave their lands for these factories.”

Transport business in the area is dominated by local people, many of whom gave up their fertile farmlands when the plants were being constructed in the 1990s.

They charged close to 11 rupees (13 cents; 11 pence) per tonne of cement per kilometre, but the Adani group wants this to be reduced to six rupees. Transporters say the freight charges are fair because of rising fuel prices.

The Adani Group told the BBC that it wants “to continue its operations in both locations if it gets the necessary support from transporters”. It added that it’s “unfortunate” that “local transport unions don’t allow other transporters to operate at competitive rates”.

“The firm should be free to engage trucks wherever they are needed to facilitate transportation, thus ensuring a free market approach to best serve our consumers,” it said.

But locals argue that they should have the first right to operate trucks for these plants since they gave up their “fertile land” for them.

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Request to cancel Chamara Sampath’s bail, rejected

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The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today (May 16) rejected a request by the  Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to cancel the bail granted to Badulla District MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake and remand him again over alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as a member of the Uva Provincial Council in 2016.

Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali delivered the decision after considering arguments presented by both parties.

In a motion filed before the court, the CIABOC alleged that the MP had interfered with ongoing investigations through his wife by prompting former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to hold a press conference. 

During this briefing, Wickremesinghe reportedly made inaccurate statements related to the case, portraying the MP’s actions as permissible.
However, President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa, representing Dassanayake, denied any interference or misconduct, arguing there was no evidence of witness tampering. The Commission also acknowledged that the former President is not listed as a witness in the case.

MP Dassanayake was initially granted bail on April 08 over the same incident.

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DMT stops issuing number plates over supply shortage

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The Department of Motor Traffic has notified owners of newly registered vehicles that the issuance of number plates has been temporarily suspended, effective April 28, due to a supply shortage.

In an official communication, the department acknowledged that although number plates are a mandatory component of vehicle registration, ongoing supply issues have made it impossible to fulfill this requirement at present.

As a result, both number plates and corresponding stickers for newly registered vehicles will not be issued until further notice.

The Department has assured vehicle owners that distribution will resume as soon as the supply is restored.

(dailynews.lk)

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

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CIABOC refutes Ranil’s claim

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The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) today (May 16) informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that a recent statement by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding a treasury circular was factually inaccurate.

The Magistrate was also informed that the statement may have interfered with an ongoing bribery investigation involving Badulla District MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake.

Wickremesinghe, speaking at a special media briefing, had stated that a circular issued in 2015 – during his tenure as Prime Minister – allowed provincial councils to withdraw fixed deposit funds prior to maturity.

However, the CIABOC has clarified that the circular in question was actually issued on November 22, 2016, whereas Dassanayake had withdrawn the funds much earlier, on February 29, 2016.

The Commission also disclosed that Mr. Wickremesinghe’s statement was made at the request of Dassanayake’s wife and that the accuracy of the circular’s date had not been verified before the public statement.

Dassanayake, who appeared in court today, is accused of causing a financial loss of over Rs. 17.6 million to the government by prematurely withdrawing fixed deposit funds belonging to the Uva Provincial Council during his time as Chief Minister.

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