Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana said that a fare revision should be made to keep train fares lower than bus fares by one third.
Speaking in Parliament today (24), the minister said that a decision based on principle should be taken in this regard.
He also said that the time has come to amend the laws to make the Railways Department an authority.
“We hope to fully digitize ticket issuance and seat reservation within three months. After that, there should be a revision in fares. We should take a policy decision to keep the train fares one-third lower than the bus fares and revise the fares accordingly. It is difficult to make some decisions since the Railways is a department. The institution should deviate from the departmental system in order to maintain efficiency. An Act was drafted in 2001 and 2002 to create a railways authority. I will release this draft to the trade unions and relevant authorities to amend it as necessary. We need support in this initiative on behalf of the future of the country,” he said.
The Indian High Commission in Colombo has issued a statement on the ‘Operation Sindoor’ launched by the Indian Armed Forces targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the statement, 09 sites have been targeted.
The statement further notes :
“Our actions have been focused, measured and non- escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”
“These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable.”
Former State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera has been remanded until May 19 by the Mahara Magistrate’s Court.
He had surrendered to the court earlier today (May 07).
(Previous news 2025 May 07 –11.00.a.m.)
Prasanna Ranaweera surrenders to court
Former State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera has surrendered to the Mahara Magistrate’s Court today (May 07).
Previously, an open warrant was issued for Ranaweera’s arrest over allegedly selling a plot of state-owned land in Kiribathgoda to a private party by forging documents.
Several persons including former Minister Mervyn Silva are currently in remand custody over the incident.
The National People’s Power (NPP) has won the most number of seats in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), but has not obtained enough to form a majority. The party secured 48 seats with over 81,000 votes, which is about 36.9% of the total.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) came in second with 29 seats, followed by the United National Party (UNP) with 13 seats. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) won five and four seats respectively. Meanwhile, Independent & minor parties have secured 20 seats.
The CMC is Sri Lanka’s largest and oldest local government body.