11 July 2019 10:12 pm
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will inform the police and would then go ahead with erecting electricity posts to provide power to the Kuragala Temple, Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ravi Karunanayake told parliament today.
“We will inform the police and go ahead with erecting electricity posts to provide power to the Kuragala Temple, as initially, we have got permission from the Department of Archaeology to do it,” the minister said.
“I cannot say anything about the blocking of Iraj’s Facebook fan page as the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) should clarify the matter,” he added,
The Minister was responding to a question raised with regard to this matter by Opposition MP Wimal Weerawansa in the House.
Mr. Weerawansa said that preventing the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) from giving a power connection to Kuragala Vihara is a political issue.
“The decision of the Department of Archaeology to withdraw the permission originally given to erect electricity posts to supply power to the Vihara earlier is clearly a political issue,” he said.
The MP said the Facebook fan page of popular musician Iraj Weeraratne had been blocked by the Sri Lankan authorities and said this happened after the Weeraratne informed the Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake about the situation in Kuragala Temple.
He said Minister Karunanayake should discuss the matter with Minister Sajith Premadasa under whose purview the Department of Archaeology is vested on. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)