Provincial News

A series of religious ceremonies were organised by the residents of Matara at the Uda Aparekka Sri Sepalikarama Temple to pray to the gods to end the prolonged drought.

A woman who was bitten by a large black ant died of an allergy after admission to the Kurunegala (Teaching) Hospital.

The proposed two storeyed building for the Ahungalla Public Library is another failed project in the south.

The project was inaugurated by the Balapitiya Pradeshiya Sabha during the time of its former Chairman Sarath Samarajeewa. Work had been stopped at the roof level about 12 years ago and shrubs have grown around and within it.

 Four suspected treasure hunters who were alleged to have dug up a treasure in a residential house were taken into custody produced before Badulla Magistrate Yasarath Bandara Nelundeniya.

Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunawardene said the government faced four very formidable challenges which no other government since independence had experienced.

Fishermen in the south complain of the use of illegal fishing methods by racketeers. They say that drag net fishing in the area is the worst affected. The racketeers use dynamite and purse seine nets which are forbidden by the Fisheries Department. These do extensive damage to marine life and interfere with the breeding of fish.

Chena cultivators in Wellassa who depended on agriculture for generations are today in a predicament for want of land and due to other hardships facing them. Many of them have given up agriculture and taken to other trades to make a living.

Former UNP parliamentarian for Gampaha district, John Amaratunga said the UNP would record a landslide victory in the Gampaha district in view of the services rendered to the area by the UNP. Addressing a ceremony to award certificates to the second batch of 22 students who successfully completed vocational training at ‘The John Amaratunga Foundation,’ he said  the UNP would not resort to false promises in a bid to  gain cheap political mileage or expect personal benefits from politics. 

A large stock of ten polythene bags containing 450 bottles of illicit liquor was seized in transit and two suspects were taken into custody during a raid at Bodhiraja Mawatha in Pinwatta by the Panadura - Walana Anti-Vice Squad.

UPFA member of the Madulla Pradeshiya Sabha and Nelliliyedda Samurdhi Development Officer T.M. Ratnapala has been in utter misery for more than a year after he was injured by an anti personnel mine and seriously injured.

The Sirimavo Bandaranaike Primary School at Galgamuwa was closed yesterday when a wasp nest was found on the roof of one of the school buildings. The Principal of the School W.M. Waruna Bandara said he closed the school in consultation with the Zonal Director and other senior officials to prevent any possible danger to any of the 410 students of the school.

A supporter of a prominent Minister of the Kalutara district received stab injuries during an altercation with another supporter at a pocket meeting held in the Wekada area attended by the minister in question on Tuesday evening.

The body of an 85 year-old woman was recovered last morning from a jungle near her home at the Wellangala colony in Galigamuwa. Kegalle police arrested three of her neighbours on suspicion of the murder.

Chairman of the Kalutara Pradeshiya Sabha, Nihal Premashantha Perera and five employees of the council, who had been on remand in connection with the alleged assault on a driver of the council, were released by Panadura Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake on cash bail of Rs.5000 and surety bail of Rs.200,000 each.

Three tsunami stricken families that had been homeless for more than five years after their houses were destroyed by the tsunami waves were recently settled in new houses at Uduwaragoda, Pereliya in the Hikkaduwa Divisional Secretariat Division. The project that cost Rs. 1.8 million was funded by the staff of the Bank of Ceylon, Sabaragamuwa Region.

The obnoxious smell emanating from the Karapitiya Hospital mortuary has created a serious threat to the public health and severely inconvenienced residents of the area,and also the patients and visitors to the hospital.

A motorcyclist who was knocked down by a lorry died on the spot. His son who was the pillion rider was also injured and was admitted to the district hospital at Hettipola and then transferred to the Kuliyapitiya Base Hospital in a critical condition.

The controversy over unethical methods allegedly used by the authorities to get rid of wasps inhabiting Sigiriya rock has been gathering momentum after  media revelations.

The area residents as well as several senior government officials have now jumped on the bandwagon to express concern for alleged inhumane suffering caused to these insects.

The employees of Katupotha District Hospital and the residents of the area expressed concern for not demolishing the dilapidated buildings of Katupotha District Hospital that created a series of problems.

The tamed turtles in the Hikkaduwa beach are one of the main tourist attractions in the area.

Hundreds of foreign tourists staying in Hikkaduwa tourist abodes take a fancy to pet the tamed turtles that