4 Tuesday 9th June, 2009 The Island More News Page Four Rat fever, rabies, dengue put Health Ministry under siege b y Dilanthi Jayamanne la fever , had occurred during that period. agriculture etc., to seek medical assist ance if The areas affected by the disease, which they had a fever for over three days. While the Health Ministry is struggling to is caused by exposure to the Leptospira Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said 55 rid the country of the dengue menace, yet interrogans bacterium, are Colombo, persons had died of rabies. Over 2,000 dog another epidemic is showing signs of surfac - Gampaha, Kalut ara, Kurunegala, Matara, bites were reported daily from around the ing. Over 1,425 leptospirosis (rat fever) cases Galle, Kandy and Ratnapura. country. had been reported during the first five months Lack of proper drainage systems and neg - of this year , the Health Ministry said. lected p addy lands had resulted in the A Health Ministry Of ficial said that 51 diesase, the Health Ministry said urging the deaths due to rat fever also known as canico - public, mainly those engaged in gem mining, JVP queries why The latest publication of Upali Group of Newspapers ‘Budu Maga’ was presented to Indian all-party team might visit H. M. Herath, Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affiars and Moral Upliftment by Nimal Kegalle road widening Welgama, Manging Director of Upali Group of Newspapers at The Ministry office recently (Photo-Jude Denzil Pathiraja) SL - Kanimozhi project stopped by Ratnapura Corr. 08 Jun 2009: CHENNAI: An all-p arty dele - At the Kegalle district co-ordinating Nanotechnology: What, why gation might visit Sri Lanka to study the pres - ent situation and help the Tamils there, DMK committee meeting held on May 29, co- M P Kanimozhi indicated on Sunday. chaired by Labour Relations Minister and its future in Sri Lanka Asked about the possibility of such a visit Athauda Seneviratne and Chief Minister by an Indian delegation, Kanimozhi told Maheepala Herath, JVP Kegalle district The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka as a Science Team Leader. reporters that there are chances for it to hap - the war and stressed on the need to think M P Gamini Ratnayake queried about the (IESL) in association with National Science Nanotechnology, a highly interdiscipli - pen. about the future of the 20 lakh plant ation road project which would help reduce traf - foundation (NSF) will conduct a Public nary field dealing with the synthesis, char - She was speaking to newspersons after a Tamils there. fic congestion in the Kegalle town. He said Lecture under the Continuing Professional acterisation and applications of materials Sri Lankan delegation comprising ministers, He said that elections that are due in a trade union leader and Chennai-based although it was publicly announced that Development (CPD) Programme of the and devices in nanoscale (10-9) is poised V avuniya and Jaffna should be held only consul called on her at her residence. the road project would commence on May IESL on June 10, 2009 (Wednesday) at to of fer solutions to long st anding problems af ter the displaced Tamils were resettled and Sri Lanka s Minister for Social and Y outh added that the people of Sri Lanka expected 11 and later postponed to May 25, it never 5.15 p.m. in various sectors. The application of Development, Arumugham Thondaman, India s help in every aspect. commenced even after that and he want- Prof. Ajith De alwis, (B.Sc. Eng. Nanotechnology in Health Care, deputy Minister for Rehabilit ation and Kanimozhi said that India has already ed to know the reason for the delay. (Moratuwa), Ph.D (Cambridge), I, will Automobile Engineering, Information T raining Sivalingam, trade unionist Senthil sanctioned Rs 500 crore for the Sri Lankan Labour Relations Minister Athauda speak on Nanotechnology: What & why Technology, Electronics, and Defence etc. Thondaiman and the deputy high commis- Tamils and if there was any need for more sioner in Chennai, P M Amsa, were part of Seneviratne replied that since the original and Future for it in Sri Lanka at the is being rapidly advanced. funds, it would be decided by the govern - the delegation that held discussions for about plan, if implemented, would t ake a long D e partment of Chemical & Process Innovations at the intersection of medi - ment. (Indian Express) half an hour. time to complete, it was decided to widen Engineering, University of Moratuwa. cine, engineering, biotechnology, educa - Arumugham Thondaman said that the sit - the Colombo-Kandy main road, stage by His research areas are on triple bottom tion, and technology transfer. Basic uation in the island nation has changed af ter st age. line approach for the Chemical & Process research in nanosciences is rapidly pro - The Minister said that the late Minister industry, integrated solid waste manage - ducing commercially viable product s. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle wanted an alterna - ment, an acrobie digestion systems, ICT in Governments and industries across the tive road to commence from Ranwala solid and hazardous waste management, globe are st aking their claims by investing Estates not bothered junction along the Hospit al junction, process industry developments in Sri billions of dollars, euros and yen for Ratnapura Corr. The est ate managements fail to attend Kegalle Balika V idyalaya, the hermit age Lanka and Development of Novel Food research. International rivalries are grow - According to Ratnapura District even meetings pertaining to the welfare of and via the of fice of the Superintendent of Products and Process Schemes. At pres - ing. Secretary, the government is unable to the est ate workers, even on invit ation. Police, to join the mainroad. It was decid - ent he is working at the Sri Lanka Institute extend it s development programmes in the Ultimately the poor est ate workers suf - ed to start work from Ranwala junction of Nanotechnology (Pvt) Lt d. (SLINTEC), est ate sector as the est ate companies are fer , he said. upto the Beligas road p assing hospit al not extending their co-operation. junction and the balika V idyalaya. There was no final decision to reach the main road from Beligas road which is about 2 ‘Parliament... From page 1 1/2 km from the main road, he said. filed a fundament al right s application in the tion of Ameresekere and Nanayakkara on the A discussion was held with the Supreme Court in 2007. grounds that it was the p arliament s decision Highways Minister T. B. Ekanayake and it Several years ago a COPE report to to handle the issue. was decided to develop the section of the Parliament highlighted several irregularities in Auditing firms PriceWaterHouseCoopers road from Ranawala junction upto the cir - the privatization of SLIC and Sri Lanka Marine and Ernst and Young have been exposed by Services (LMS) but the Parliament did nothing the judgment for unethical conduct of their cular road and also the Colombo-Kandy about them. Had we not filed action against senior p artners. road running through the Kegalle town to these deals before the Supreme Court, politi - Now it is up to the government, the CID, be widened wherever necessary until a cians would have continued to turn a blind eye the Bribery Commission, Securities and decision is t aken about an alternative road to them, Ameresekere said. Exchange Commission and the Chartered The lengthy Supreme Court ruling could Institute of Accountants to carry out investiga - project. best be summed up in a single paragraph tions and penalise wrong doers, Consumer Af fairs Minister H. R. recorded on page 59 of the ruling: It is sufi- f Ameresekere said. M.ithrap ala, Lalith Dissanayake MP, cient to say this Court is shocked by the man - What we filed was a fundamental rights Gamini Ratnayake MP Provincial U. G. ner in which the senior public of ficers had application. Now it is up to the government to handled the sale of a pivot al asset of the S tate take the matter up with the penal code where Padmasiri Also p articip ated. which belongs to the people of this country. jail terms and fines will be the just deserves of Ameresekere and Nanayakkara said the those who let this fraud t ake place, he said. case exposed how politicians, public of ficials Nanayakkara said it was not over. and businessmen connived to fleece the pub - There are politicians who are in the ruling lic. government and so it will be doubt ful whether Milford Holding Pvt. Lt d of Singapore and the CID, Bribery Commission or the Auditor ti s local agent Greenfield Pacific EM Holdings General would t ake the matter further, he Lt d had bought a 90 percent st ake of SLIC for said. Monday about Rs. 6 billion and were not even incorpo - Ameresekere plans to file another public rated when the Cabinet granted approval for interest case against the oil hedging deals of the privatization to t ake place where Harry the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. He said afternoon clinics Jayewardene was signatory to the deal. It was the government has to pay as much as US$ by Cyril Wimalasurendre Distilleries Comp any of Sri Lanka, headed by 900 million if the hedging contract s are hon - Jayewardene, which had submitted the suc- oured. cessful bid through the back door. KANDY- Peradeniya Teaching Hospital Ameresekere said the 90 percent share will has made arrangements to conduct clinics come back to the government and the gov- in the af ternoon on every Monday for ernment would issue Treasury bonds amount- expectant mother of the families of war ing to Rs.