In keeping with New Year customs and traditions, a calendar (seethu) containing the auspicious times for the Sinhala and Hindu New Year rituals was presented to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday. Culture and the Arts Minister T B Ekanayake was also present. Picture by Sudath Silva

Proposed CEB tariff hike :

POWER : PAY LESS THAN RS 75 MORE FOR NOW

* Switch to coal power paying dividends

* Fuel adjustment charges soon to be scrapped

More than three million households will experience a price increase of less than Rs 75 temporarily until the generation cost of electricity is reduced drastically as a result of the prudent policy decision taken by the government to switch onto low cost coal power generation rather than depending on expensive petrol and diesel powered power generation, Power and Energy Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said. She said three million family units in the country use less than 90 units of electricity a month out of which one million use only 30 units and another million use less than 60 units of electricity.

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China help for development activities

China will extend its fullest support for development activities in Sri Lanka, Deputy Governor of the Yunnan State in China Ding Shaoxiang said. He said China would volunteer to assist in activities such as road development, tourism, small scale hydro power projects and other development activities.

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Lanka’s banks on par with best in the world – Dr Amunugama

Sri Lanka’s standards in the area of banking are on par with the world’s best in terms of services and expertise and professionals in the field, Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation and Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama said. The minister made the observation addressing the staff of National Savings Bank at its headquarters in Kollupitiya yesterday.

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‘Massive campaign to create public opinion against govt’

A massive campaign is under way in the country to create public opinion against the government in the backdrop of an adverse campaign launched by the LTTE proxies against Sri Lanka internationally. An international media organization which has an office in Colombo has also launched a similar campaign within the country to portray the world that there is no free of media in the country, said military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya. He was speaking at an interaction with the journalists at the Press Institute of Sri Lanka.

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