Three shops located in a building that housed a furniture showroom were completely destroyed in a fire that broke out last night (5) at Kotagala in Hatton.
The owner of the shop had been staying with his wife on the upper floor of the shop when the fire had broken out from the ground floor. Police said the couple had managed to escape the fire.
The fire was brought under control by other vendors, the Dimbula Pathana police officers, troops of Kotagala Army Camp and plantation workers.
Meanwhile, a tense situation was reported when the personnel of Nuwara Eliya Municipality’s Fire Department arrived late at the location, once the fire had been brought under control.
The damage caused by the fire has not been assessed yet, and the Dimbula Pathana Police said that the cause of the fire was a faulty electrical outlet.
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.
