Ill-fated locomotives that run on money
The Sri Lankan Railway is beset with two
perennial problems: Trains do not operate on scheduled times and the
mounting losses occurring in the large-scale purchases of spares and
other irregularities continue unabated. The controversial purchase
of the French Alstom engines is a case in point. Eight years ago ten
such French engines, each costing Rs. 190 million were purchased at
a staggering amount of Rs. 1900 million. Within a shoot span of 2 to
3 years all these engines, except for 2 or 3 had to be scrapped. The
loss to the State coffers was tremendous.
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Debate
A silent tsunami threatening the global population
As the current food crisis continues to spread
across developing nations, the staple food of over 150 million
Bangladeshis has been hit by spiralling prices an increase of over
87 percent in March alone, according to the World Food Programme.
Bangladesh, which is expected to produce about 8.0 million tonnes of
potatoes this year compared with 5.0 million tonnes in 2007, has
been more pragmatic in switching from one staple to another.
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