Author: TELO Admin

Police and Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Minister Jeevan Thondaman have traded accusations over the latter’s intervention with the Bogawanthalawa Police, following the arrest of a 28-year-old person involved in a dispute with the manager of a state bank in the area. The police arrested the suspect in Bogawantalawa town on 22 June, hours after the bank manager lodged a complaint.

Police said Minister Thondaman and a group of supporters had arrived at Bogawantalawa on 24 June in the late afternoon and berated police officers for taking the suspect, named Kalaichelvam, into custody. Hatton District Judge and Magistrate M Farookdeen has remanded the suspect till 27 June, pending investigations.

When The Island raised the issue with Minister Thondaman’s Office, a spokesperson said that the Minister had called for an impartial inquiry as the police had allegedly assaulted the suspect when he was taken into custody. The Minister had taken up the issue because the police had allegedly committed an excess, he said.

Jeevan Thondaman successfully contested the Nuwara Eliya District at the last general election on the SLPP ticket. The CWC MP was accommodated in the Cabinet in January this year by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sources said that Minister Thondaman had summoned the OIC of the Bogawanthalawa Police Station Chief Inspector Sampath Bandara and three police officers who carried out the arrest.

The Minister has demanded the immediate transfer of the three policemen out of the Bogawantalawa Police Station and to assign one of them to the CWC main office at Kotagala.

Minister Thondaman has threatened to discontinue water supply to the Bogawantalawa Police Station, unless his demands are met.Hatton SP H.N. M. Dehigama, who arrived at the scene, had told Minister Thondaman that the officers couldn’t be transferred until the conclusion of an internal investigation. The senior officer said that the investigation was based on video footage of the arrest now on social media platforms.

Sources said that the suspect had inquired about the bank balance of another person and an argument had erupted when bank workers declined to grant his request, pointing out that it was illegal to release such information to a third party.

The bidding process for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment opportunities at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) concluded last week, with the participation of 19 potential investors and strategic entrepreneurs, according to Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL).

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, AASL Chairman Major General (Retd) G.A. Chandrasiri revealed that significant interest had been received from interested investors and strategic entrepreneurs after Expressions of Interest (EOIs) had been called earlier this year.

Accordingly, he shared that 19 local and international investors had taken part in the bidding process that had been concluded last week.

He stated: “About 19 local and international companies took part in the bidding process on Monday (19). I think this process will be successful. We are hopeful that we will receive an attractive offer.”

He further stated that the received bids were currently being evaluated and that the final decision would be made within a month’s time.

On 8 January, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal presented by Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva calling for EOIs from investors interested in engaging in business activities using the facilities at MRIA.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business previously, Chandrasiri disclosed that proposals had been received from investors who had expressed interest in establishing an aircraft dismantling business and a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the MRIA.

The AASL’s main objective is to leverage the facilities and assets of the Mattala Airport to create PPP investment opportunities. These opportunities aim to attract investors and entrepreneurs involved in both direct and indirect aviation-related ventures, thereby facilitating aeronautical and non-aeronautical businesses at the airport.

Since its inception, the MRIA has been plagued by controversy and allegations of corruption. These controversies relating to the construction of the MRIA and its subsequent failure to generate revenue have resulted in it being labelled a white elephant which is an unnecessary burden on the State coffers. Consequently, groups within the present and the previous regime have actively pushed for the privatisation of the MRIA.

As many as 51 vehicles belonging to the Presidential Secretariat were unaccounted for as at end-2022, said the National Audit Office in a report.

The value of these vehicles remains unknown too.

According to the report, the Presidential Secretariat has released 53 of its vehicles to other state institutions, temples, religious leaders and MPs, without following the proper procedure.

It had spent Rs. 13.7 million for the maintenance of 27 of these vehicles during the year, but had taken no steps to recover that expenditure.

About 70 pilots attached to SriLankan Airlines had resigned during the past six months, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said yesterday in Parliament.

“There are fewer than 260 pilots at SriLankan now. Another 18 are to join Emirates soon,” he said.SriLankan needs 330 pilots to operate its flights optimally, Premadasa said.Meanwhile, from 18 to 22 June, SriLankan Airlines have cancelled 13 flights, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP Dayasiri Jayasekera said in Parliament on Friday.The passengers of these flights had to be accommodated in star class hotels, he said.

“We don’t know how much money was spent to pay for the accommodation. But it’s obvious that dozens of million rupees must have been spent”.

The flights of Sri Lankan Airlines are delayed because of a union action taken by pilots and engineers and not because of sudden illnesses of pilots as stated by the government, he said.They have resorted to union action because the government had not paid them an allowance that was due during the COVID period, the SLFP MP went on to say.

“The government wants to sell SriLankan Airlines. So they are deliberately running it to the ground. Buses that carry air passengers are not allowed to enter the airport premises. People are compelled to walk a long distance, dragging their luggage,” he said.