The commemorative stamp issued by the Philatelic Bureau and the special commemorative coin issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on the occasion of the 75th National Independence Day, was presented to President Ranil Wickremesinghe this morning (02) at the Presidential Palace in Kandy.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe received the commemorative stamp from the Minister of Mass Media, Transport and Highways, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, and the commemorative coin was presented to the President by Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank.
The Philatelic Bureau issued the Rs. 50 stamp and first day cover in keeping with the practices followed over the years on such significant events. The new stamp could be purchased from all post offices and sub-post offices in the island from today.
Additionally, the Sri Lanka Philatelic Bureau has created special stamp windows at Kandy, Trincomalee, Kurunegala, Galle, and Negombo where customers can purchase this commemorative stamp with the first-day cover.
In conjunction with the 75th Anniversary of Independence, the Sri Lanka Postal Department has organized the Independence Stamp Exhibition and Museum Exhibition from the 6th to the 12th of February from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm at the Postal Headquarters premises located at D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha, Colombo 10.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) issued an uncirculated commemorative coin in the denomination of Rs. 1000 to mark the 75 th Anniversary of Independence.
The national flag of Sri Lanka is embossed on the middle of the coin, and the number “75” is displayed there in bold numerals. The words “Independence Commemoration” are printed in English, Tamil, and Sinhala along the top edge of the coin. Around the lower edge of the coin’s periphery is the year “1948 – 2023.” In big numerals, the face value “1000” is displayed on the centre of the coin. The national emblem of Sri Lanka appears above the face value. The year “2023” is at the bottom edge of the coin. Words “Sri Lanka” in English, Sinhala, and Tamil appears along the periphery on the upper edge of the coin.
Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, State Minister of Media Shantha Bandara, President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and President’s Chief of Staff Mr. Sagala Ratnayake, Secretary to the President Mr. Saman Ekanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Media Mr. Anusha Palpita, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Acting Postmaster General Mr. S. R. W.M. R. P. Sathkumara, Deputy Postmaster General (Operations) Mr. Rajitha K. Ranasinghe, Deputy Postmaster General (Central Provinces) Mr. Chamisha de Silva, Director of the Philatelic Bureau Mr. Lanka de Silva, Senior Publicity Officer Mr. Channa Munasinghe and several other officials were present on the occasion.
Due to various issues that have arisen within many political parties during the selection of members for LG bodies, submission of name lists to the Election Commission (EC) are being delayed, reports say.
As a result, the establishment of LG bodies is expected to be delayed further.
In this backdrop, the EC has instructed all political parties and independent groups to submit their name lists within a week.
The gazette on the newly appointed members will follow only after the EC receives all lists.
The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs has issued a letter over a program organized by Br. Charles Thomas.
The relevant program is scheduled to be held today (May 17) at the historic Padeniya temple and is allegedly scheduled to be held in a manner that is harmful to Buddhism.
The letter notes that the Deputy Minister has taken steps to cancel the program following complaints from various parties, citing strong displeasure expressed by the local Buddhist community.
The Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education has announced that applications are now open for admissions for Grade 12 students for the Advanced Level (A/L) Vocational stream subjects.
According to the Ministry, the vocational stream will be offered in 608 schools starting this year.
The Ministry further clarified that students who have not passed the GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) examination will still be eligible to apply, as O/L results will not be a determining factor for admission to this stream.
For this, students need to submit an application to the principal of the school they wish to enroll in.