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HIGHLIGHTS Cabinet gives green light MONDAY Expressway, five flyovers 7 june 2021 to ease traffic congestion PAGE A4 E-PAPER Vehicles carrying essential service workers Permanent sticker system from today BY TRESHAN FERNANDO Floods, Landslides Police will adopt a permanent sticker system from today (7) to allow workers, needed for essential services, to travel easily during travel restrictions, without being subjected to multiple inspections, Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said. He added that these new stickers will be valid until the end of travel restrictions. There will be 11 types of stickers that will be pasted on Kill 16, Three Missing vehicles at various checkpoints in Colombo from today. The stickers will be pasted at Negombo Road, Expressway entry points, Kandy Road, Low-level Road, High-level Road, Parliament Road, Galle Road and a few other locations. 49,778 persons in 11,876 270,912 people in 67,564 The stickers will have different colours which will indicate the different types of essential service workers. The green families displaced families affected stickers will be pasted on those working in the health sector, light blue stickers on vehicles of the tri-forces and purple stickers to indicate those working in essential services from BY PANEETHA AMERESEKERE Mawanella, Dehiowita, Yatiyantota and the private sector. Rambukkana DSDs and surrounding areas in Those working in export-oriented sector will be given a light Sixteen persons died and three were the Kegalle District, Ambagamuwa DSD and brown sticker, essential suppliers and essential goods traders reported missing, while another five were surrounding areas in the Nuwara-Eliya will be given the yellow and red stickers respectively, and the injured due to floods, landslides and District and Nivithigala, Ratnapura, Elapatha, media will be given an orange sticker. earthslips, the Disaster Management Centre Eheliyagoda, Ayagama, Kalwana and Kiriella Those who must travel for necessities such as for medical (DMC), issuing a report at 6:30 p.m. DSDs and surrounding areas in the reasons or travelling to and from the airport and delivery yesterday, said. Ratnapura District. service workers will be given the white sticker. Four were killed in a landslide at The NBRO further said that since the DIG Rohana stressed that the sticker will also have the Aranayaka, Kegalle on Saturday. Among the rainfall in the past 24 hours exceeded 75mm number of people travelling in the vehicle written on the balance 12 reported dead, three each were in certain places, residents would have to be sticker and Police will collect the NIC numbers of passengers from the Gampaha and Ratnapura Districts, on the watch for landslides. Those places are as well. two from the Puttalam District, one each from Elpitiya DSD and surrounding areas in Galle, The number of passengers will be noted on the sticker and the Colombo, Galle and Kalutara Districts and Divulapitiya, Gampaha, Attanagalla and DIG Rohana said that this number should not be exceeded. In another from the Kegalle District. Mirigama DSDs and surrounding areas in the addition, he told the media that only those who have given Meanwhile, the three missing were from the Gampaha District, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara their NIC numbers to Police when pasting the sticker can Puttalam, Kalutara and Kurunegala Districts. and Thunpane DSDs and surrounding areas travel in the vehicle. And the five injured included two from in the Kandy District, Abanganga Korale, He stressed that the vehicle with the sticker should not be Kalutara and one each from the Gampaha, Pallepola and Yatawatta DSDs and used for any other purposes other than for travelling to and Ratnapura and Nuwara Eliya Districts surrounding areas in the Matale District and from their workplace. Those violating this stipulation would respectively. Kuruwita and Imbulpe DSDs and be reprimanded by Police and the vehicle would be taken into “Floods, landslides and earth slips impacted surrounding areas in the Ratnapura District. custody, DIG Rohana added. 270,912 people attached to 67,564 families as Kurunegala and Galle Districts, as a result of The Irrigation Department, issuing a report Those travelling with the sticker are still required to always at 6.00 p.m. yesterday,” the DMC further said. the inclement weather, DMC further said. at 3.30 p.m. yesterday said that though Kuda keep their NICs and the letter from their workplace with them, A total of 26,846 persons belonging to 6,176 Meanwhile, the breakdown of the aforesaid Ganga and Attanagalu Oya have reached DIG Rohana explained. families have been highly impacted and 270,912 people impacted by the inclement major flood level, their water levels were He also noted that there may be queues forming at evacuated to 104 safety centres set up to weather are: Gampaha (161,683); Colombo falling. checkpoints today morning and he urged those heading to assist the displaced, it said. Most of these (65,342); Puttalam (29,049); Ratnapura Similarly, though the waters of the Kelani work to leave early to avoid facing delays. DIG Rohana safety centres are in the Colombo (52), (5,614); Kalutara (4,476); Kurunegala (3,653); Ganga and Kalu Ganga have reached minor maintained that whilst there may be delays today, in the Gampaha (18), Kalutara (10) and Ratnapura Kegalle (1,059); Nuwara-Eliya (301) and flood levels, their water levels too were falling, future this will be more convenient for the public. (nine) Districts. Another 22,932 displaced Kandy (35); respectively. the Department said. The Irrigation Additionally, DIG Rohana also warned the public that they persons (5,700 families) are residing with Meanwhile, the National Building Research Department also said that though the waters should not tamper with or damage the sticker. relatives or friends, the DMC said. Organization (NBRO) at 4.30 p.m. yesterday of the Magura Ganga, a Kalu Ganga tributary Police will begin applying stickers from today and they will Most affected areas were Kolonnawa, said that since the rainfall during the past 24 and that of Maha Oya were closer to reaching continue this system for a few days. Kaduwela and Kotte in the Colombo District; hours has exceeded 100mm and if the rains minor flood levels, nonetheless, currently Wattala, Kelaniya, Biyagama, Ekala, Ja-Ela, continue, there would be a need to evacuate their water levels too were falling. Katana, Gampaha in the Gampaha District; to safer areas to avoid being victims of Meanwhile, the Met Department, in its Eheliyagoda in the Ratnapura District and landslides. weather forecast up to 4 a.m. tomorrow (8) Millaniya in the Kalutara District, the DMC Those areas are: the Seethawaka and said that showers will occur at times in the report said. Padukka Divisional Secretariat Divisions Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-Western X-Press Pearl Additionally, some families living in the (DSDs) and surrounding areas in the Colombo Provinces and in Galle, Matara, Nuwara-Eliya Kegalle, Gampaha, Galle, Colombo, District, Neluwa DSD Galle, Walallawita, and Kandy Districts. Showers or Ratnapura and Kalutara Districts were Agalawatte, Ingiriya, Bulathsinhala, thundershowers will occur at a few places in evacuated to safe places due to high risk and Matugama, Horana, Palindanuwara and the Uva and Eastern Provinces during the VDR given to CID are residing in these safety centres, DMC said. surrounding areas in the Kalutara District, evening or night. Mainly fair weather will Fifteen houses have been fully damaged and Pasbage Korala DSD and surrounding areas prevail elsewhere. Temporary localised strong BY THAMEENAH RAZEEK another and 935 houses partially in the in the Kandy District, Kegalle, Aranayaka, winds and lightning will occur during Ratnapura, Gampaha, Colombo, Puttalam, Galigamuwa, Warakapola, Ruwanwella, thundershowers, it said. The Voyage Data Recorder (VDR), of the ill-fated X-Press Kalutara, Nuwara Eliya, Kegalle, Kandy, Kegalle, Bulathkohupitiya, Deraniyagala, (Pic by Amitha Tennakoon) Pearl, was handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). Police Spokesman, DIG Ajith Rohana said the data from the VDR, also known as a ship’s black box, will be examined. He added the VDR contains communication between the captain, Flood-affected Sapugaskanda Refinery Allowing foreign tourist arrivals the main corporation, and the local agent. Meanwhile, the captain and crew have given 20 statements to the Police, and the Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) and Meeting tomorrow on Sajith questions Govt Government Analyst have collected circumstantial evidence and water samples to analyse the pollution that has occurred BY NABIYA VAFFOOR closed their borders to to the environment. preventing oil spills tourists,” charged By reviewing the information on the VDR, DIG Rohana Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. assured that the Police will identify the parties guilty for the Premadasa asked the He also mentioned about environmental contamination near Sri Lanka's coastline. BY THAMEENAH RAZEEK drink, but the locals are Government why it decided how the Government allowed A VDR is a piece of shipboard equipment that records a concerned. We hope to hold a to prioritise foreigners over Ukrainian tourists to ignore variety of data that can be utilised to reconstruct the voyage A meeting will be held tomorrow meeting with the Chairmen of the Sri Lankan citizens, following quarantine regulations specifics and important information during an accident (8), with all the stakeholders, to Pradeshiya Sabha, CPC, Water its decision to allow tourist during the second wave of the investigation. prevent any oil spill, following Supply and Drainage Board and arrivals, amidst strict travel pandemic. floods at the Sapugaskanda oil the Marine Environment restrictions islandwide. “The authorities are trying refinery in the future and mixing Protection Authority (MEPA) this “Foreigners are being to open doors to a new strain of oil with flood waters, Minister of Tuesday (8) to discuss how to allowed to visit tourism of COVID-19 virus by Energy Udaya Gammanpila said.

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