26 November 2021 12:00 am
With reference to yesterday’s Daily Mirror front page story “Govt. Analyst’s report confirms gas explosions due to composition change,” the Director General/CEO of Sri Lanka Standard Institution Dr. (Mrs) Siddhika G.Senaratne has sent the following clarification.
“The News Under the heading of “Govt: ANALYST’S REPORT CONFORMS GAS EXPOLOSIONS DUE TO COMPOSITION CHANGE” Which was published in your “Daily Mirror” Newspaper on 25-11-2021 is completely wrong and mislead the reader.
It is mentioned in the heading of the news article that the reason for the recent incidents taken place in Colombo, Weligama and Kandy is due to change in the gas composition.
However, in the content of the same news article says that cause of the recent explosions in Colombo, Weligama and Kandy were due to gas leak.
Therefore, there is a contradiction between the heading of the news and the content.
Further Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) has not received any requests verbally or in writing from Mr.Thushan Gunawardene or any other party in this regard regulation to regulate gas composition.
Mandate of SLSI is to prepare Sri Lanka Standards and SLSI is not a regulatory body to enforce regulations. Therefore SLSI Director General has no Authority / responsibility to regulation gas composition as falsely claimed by Mr. Gunawardane.
Public will be mislead by publishing such false and baseless news and therefore request you to give same publicity to this correction by publishing in the front page of your “Daily Mirror” newspaper.
Reporter’s Note-
In response to the above letter sent by Dr. Siddhika Senaratne requesting Daily Mirror Newspaper not to mislead the general public by publishing false and baseless news, this newspaper wishes to say that it is not this paper that misleads the general public but by Dr. Senaratne.
Although she claims that she did not receive any request verbally or in writing from Thushan Gunawardena former Executive Director Consumer Affairs Authority, this newspaper is in possession of all e-mail correspondence between Gunawardena and Dr. Senaratne about the change of the Propane and Butane composition in a gas cylinder.
I would like to request Dr. Siddhika to go through the e-mail she sent to Gunawardena on August 24 at 18:03 hrs, where she states that SLSI can make an amendment to the existing standards which SLSI Executive Committee could not do so far if Gunawardena can show the countries that have standards in gas composition.
Meanwhile, when this newspaper contacted Dr. Siddhika on or around June 10th to find out why the SLSI does not introduce regulation on gas composition in a cylinder, she refused to make any comment claiming that she has stopped talking to the media.
Though Dr. Siddhika states that the mandate of SLSI is to prepare SLS and it is not a regulatory body to enforce regulations, this newspaper wishes to know as to who has the authority to regulate the standard of gas cylinders and the gas pressure. Is it any other organisation or the SLSI?
I firmly stand by my reporting.