* Sheraton to get five-acre land in Sri Lankan capital for US$ 73.5 million to build hotel complex
* National Geographic Traveler picks Sri Lanka as one of the best places to visit in 2012
* Chinese company yet to decide on land offered by the Sri Lankan government for hotel project
* Newly opened Sri Lanka Expressway has earned Rs. 6.7 million in less than a week
* Old Colombo Dutch hospital renovated and converted to a modern trade complex
* Another Indian company to explore possibility of drilling for oil in Sri Lanka's Mannar Basin
* Pakistani company to set up cement processing plant at Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port
* US$ 100 million World Bank assistance to transform Sri Lanka's educational system
* Japan grants 60 million rupees to renovate pre-schools in Eastern Sri Lanka
* Estate officers in Sri Lanka threaten to launch strike against estate owners
இலங்கையை ஏலம் போடுகின்றது சிங்களம், இதற்குத்தான் ஆடியது வெண்களம்!
பக்ச பாசிஸ்டுக்கள் தேசபக்தர்கள் அல்ல ஏகாதிபத்திய தாசர்களே!
ராஜ பக்ச ஒடுக்கும் சிங்கள தேசத்தை மட்டுமே `அபிவிருத்தி` செய்கின்றார் என்று கூறுபவர்கள் குறுமினவாதிகளே!
விடுதலைப் புலிகள் வீழ்த்தப்பட்ட சூழ்நிலையைப் பயன்படுத்தி முழு நாட்டையும் அந்நியருக்கு தாரைவார்த்து விற்றுப்பிழைக்க துணிந்து விட்டார்கள் பக்ச பாசிஸ்டுக்கள்.உலக மறுபங்கீட்டுப் போட்டியில் இலங்கையில் களமிறங்கியுள்ள ஐ.ஆர்.சி( Iran Russia China), மற்றும் ஆமெயின் (America India) அணிகளுக்கு பங்கிட்டு விற்றுப் பிழைகின்றார்கள் பக்ச பாசிஸ்டுக்கள்.வெட்கம் மானம் சூடு சொரணை அற்று ஒரு புறம யுத்தக்குற்றவாளிகள் என மிரட்டிக்கொண்டு மறுபுறம் அமெரிக்க முதலீடுகளை ஊக்குவிக்கின்றான் ஒபாமா!இந்திய விரிவாதிக்க அரசு இதற்கு இடைத் தரகனாக இருக்கின்றது.
உல்லாசபுரியாக இலங்கையை மாற்றுவது, உலகமயமாக்கல் வர்த்தகத்துக்கு அந்நியச் செலாவணி திரட்டும் திட்டமே ஆகும்.இதற்காக விளை நிலங்கள் அபகரிக்கப்படுகிறது. உழைக்கும் மக்கள் தங்கள் நிலங்களில் இருந்து தூக்கி வீசப்படுகிறார்கள்.இரந்துண்ணும் மானுடர் இரவோடு இரவாக படுகொலை செய்யப் படுகின்றார்கள்.இந்தப்போக்கில் வக்கிர வன்முறைப் பாலியல் வதை என்கிற இழி தொழில் வளம் பெறும்! கற்பனைக்கு எட்டாத கலாச்சார சீரழிவால் நாடு நாசமுறும்! யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் இது ஏற்கெனவே அதிகாரபூர்வமாக ஆரம்பித்துவிட்டது,2009 இற்கு முன்னமே சிங்களம் சிறுவர் வக்கிர வன்முறைப் பாலியல் வதையில் கொடிகட்டிப் பறந்தது. இப்போது மாணவர்களைக் குறிவைத்துப் பாய்கின்றது!
உல்லாசத்துறை தரகு வணிகர்கள், அந்நிய வங்கிகள், இழிதொழில் கங்காணிகள், அந்நிய வக்கிர வன்முறைப் பாலியல் வதைப் பயங்கரவாதிகள், போன்றோரே இதனால் நன்மையடைவர்.
இது அபிவிருத்தி அல்ல அந்நியத் தீ!
இந்த அந்நியத்தீயைத் துப்பாக்கி முனையில் மூட்டி வருகிறது சிங்களம்!
புதிய ஈழப்புரட்சியாளர்கள்
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Sri Lanka to set up 35 five star hotels island wide
Sun, Dec 4, 2011, 12:18 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 04, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has approved setting up of 11 five star hotels in the capital Colombo and 24 in areas outside of Colombo to attract and accommodate tourists.Sri Lanka's Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has said the government has received the approval to set up two
five-star hotels in Gampaha, one in Negombo, four in Beruwala, two in Jaffna, seven each in Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and one in Nuwara Eliya.
He has told the media that the government was also looking at creating a tourist zone linking Katunayake, Gampaha and Negombo in the Western Province.According to Rajapaksa, leading international hotels are to be invited to invest and build hotels in Sri Lanka to provide a wide range of choices for the discerning tourist.
He has emphasized that Sri Lanka has to attract the investors before they go to other countries.
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Sheraton to get five-acre land in Sri Lankan capital for US$ 73.5 million to build hotel complex
Thu, Dec 1, 2011, 09:50 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 01, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has received the approval from its cabinet to lease prime land in the capital Colombo to the Sheraton Hotel group for a US$ 73.5 million to build a luxury hotel complex.
At the regular meeting held Wednesday, the cabinet approved the proposal for the hotel complex forwarded by the Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.The government will provide the M/s ITC limited of India, Franchise of Sheraton Group of USA, a block of land in extent of five acre near Army headquarters in Colombo on a 99 year lease for a sum of US$ 73.5 million as indicated by the Chief Government Valuer.
The Sheraton Group plans to invest US$ 300 million in the luxury hotel and mixed development project in Colombo.The government is planning to convert Colombo as a Middle Income City in terms of the long term development framework of the Government.
The project plan includes housing for shanty dwellers presently living within the city to ensure better living conditions for the residents and provide them opportunities for urban employment and livelihood activities.
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National Geographic Traveler picks Sri Lanka as one of the best places to visit in 2012
Fri, Dec 2, 2011, 01:39 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 02, Colombo: The award-winning National Geographic Traveler magazine's November/December issue has picked Sri Lanka as one of the 20 best places to visit in 2012.
As one of the "Best of the World 2012", the expose on Sri Lanka features the luscious green tea plantations in the hill country, ancient Buddhist temples of Dambulla and Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, wildlife in Yala, and the UNESCO's world heritage site of Central Highlands that cradles the Adam's Peak.
One piece 'Jolly Good Times in Hill Country' describes Nuwara Eliya as a "colonial-era resort town in Sri Lanka's stunning hill country.""The first thing that strikes you is the climate. Damp and bracingly cool, this place doesn't fit your image of Sri Lanka, the lush island nation-formerly known as Ceylon-that hangs like
a teardrop off the tip of southern India," the review describes the climate of the highlands.
"This mountainous, mist-draped realm has long been popular with backpackers and other adventurers for its tea plantations (above) and rain forest preserves, known as the Central Highlands, which recently were added to UNESCO's World Heritage list."
Since the end of the war in May 2009 Sri Lanka has been a popular destination for tourists. A series of favorable travel articles in The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, and the websites Daily Candy and Lonely Planet has given Sri Lanka top travel rankings.
Last year, the National Geographic ranked Sri Lanka at second place out of 25 countries for 'Best New Trips for 2010'.The New York Times named Sri Lanka the No. 1 travel destination in 2010, noting that the long conflict against the LTTE terrorism is over and that there is no better time to travel to Sri Lanka's unspoiled beaches, mountainous terrain and wildlife parks.
With the arrival of the 750,000th tourist in the country last month Sri Lanka has already exceeded its tourism goal for the year 2011.Under a new five-year plan to boost tourism in the country, Sri Lanka expects to raise the number of arrivals to 2.5 million and to earn annual revenue of US$ 2.75 billion by 2016.
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Chinese company yet to decide on land offered by the Sri Lankan government for hotel project
Sun, Dec 4, 2011, 01:27 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 04, Colombo: Deputy Economic Development Minister of Sri Lanka Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena says that China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) is yet to decide on a plot of land out of several offered by the government.
The seven-acre plot of land in Galle Face initially offered to CATIC has now been allocated to build a Hotel for the Sheraton Group by an Indian Company following Cabinet approval last week.
Abeywardena told ColomboPage that CATIC was shown three plots of land around the Beira Lake as an alternate to the Galle Face land.
The Deputy Minister said CATIC was yet to decide on the plot of land, which would be given on a 99 year lease.The government is currently making arrangements to sign an agreement with India's ITC, Franchise of Sheraton Group of USA, to build the Sheraton Hotel within a period of four years.
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Newly opened Sri Lanka Expressway has earned Rs. 6.7 million in less than a week
Sat, Dec 3, 2011, 10:45 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 03, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government says that authorities have collected Rs. 6.7 million from the vehicles that have traveled on the Southern Expressway from Kottawa to Galle since its opening on November 27th.
Deputy Highways Minister Nirmala Kothalawala has told the parliament that the highway has managed to earn millions within a week of its opening.The Deputy Minister has said that there have been about 25,000
vehicles that have used the expressway to travel to the South since its opening.
The government earlier said the expressway earned a million rupees within the first day after its opening.
The 95-km four-lane highway from Kottawa in Colombo district to Galle was constructed at a cost of around Rs.70 billion. The maximum speed on the highway is set at 100 Km per hour enabling the motorists to reach Galle in an hour.
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Another Indian company to explore possibility of drilling for oil in Sri Lanka's Mannar Basin
Sun, Dec 4, 2011, 01:19 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 04, Colombo: India's Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) has expressed interest in exploring for oil in the Mannar Basin off the Sri Lanka's northwest coast.Petroleum Minister Susil Premajayantha said ONGC officials are expected to visit the country shortly for discussions and assess the already available data.
The Minister told ColomboPage the Indian officials were scheduled to visit the country last week, but had postponed the visit.
The officials from the Indian company are to assess the possibility of drilling for oil and natural gas in the Mannar Basin according to current data.Meanwhile, officials from Russia's Gazprom who were visiting
the country had met with officials from Cairns India to discuss the data about natural gas deposits found by them in the Mannar Basin.
Gazprom has expressed interest in exploring for oil and natural gas in Sri Lanka.Cairn Lanka, a subsidiary of Cairn India Ltd., exploring for oil since August, found gas deposits with some hydrocarbon liquid in two exploratory wells in Mannar basin last month.
Premajayantha said the Russian company would make a final decision after studying the data collected by the company's technical officials who visited the country.
Mannar basin has eight oil and gas exploration blocks and two of them have been granted to China and India.
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Old Colombo Dutch hospital renovated and converted to a modern trade complex
Thu, Dec 1, 2011, 12:10 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 01, Colombo: The old Colombo Dutch Hospital in Colombo Fort that was built by Dutch colonial rulers in 18th century has been renovated as a modern trade complex.Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa will declare open the new trade complex tomorrow evening.
Urban Development Authority, which carried out the renovation, has taken steps to conserve the historic value of the dilapidated structure during its conversion to a modern trade complex under the 'Developing the Colombo City' project.
The colonial building had suffered heavy damage in the LTTE bombing attack on the adjacent Central Bank building in 1996.Sri Lanka government has spent around Rs. 100 million for the renovation that was conducted under the supervision of the Archaeological Department.
The new trade complex is expected to be a tourist attraction in Colombo city.
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Pakistani company to set up cement processing plant at Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port
Thu, Dec 1, 2011, 09:50 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 01, Colombo: the Sri Lankan government has received the approval from the cabinet to award a contract to a Pakistani company to set up a cement processing plant at the Hambantota port.
Accordingly, on a proposal submitted by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Minister of Ports and Highways, M/s. Thatta Cement Co. of Pakistan will set up the cement grinding plant at the Southern port.
The Cabinet has already approved three other companies to set up plants at the port.Shree Renuka Sugar Ltd of India will set up a Sugar RefineryPlant, Peak Energy (Pvt.) Ltd of Singapore will open a Petro
Chemical Plant (pET Resin Plant). The Haleys Advantis Ltd will establish a Fertilizer Storage, Processing and Bagging Plant.
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US$ 100 million World Bank assistance to transform Sri Lanka's educational system
Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 09:57 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 30, Colombo: The World Bank said on Tuesday that it has approved a US$100 million concessional credit to Sri Lanka to enhance access and quality of primary and secondary education to provide a foundation for the knowledge-based economic and social development of the country.
The Ministry of Education with the assistance will implement a project for 'Transforming the School Education System' (TSEP) at the national level, according to a World Bank statement released yesterday.
Provincial Ministries and Departments of Education, with the support of the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils will implement it at the provincial level.
Under its theme, the programme will support initiatives to increase opportunities for children in the age group of 6-10 years to complete primary education and for children in the age group of 11-16 to complete secondary education up to grade 11.
The World Bank says the programme will also support several innovative initiatives to enhance learning outcomes and improve the orientation of the education system to the economic development and social needs of the country.
It would also help assist the country to empower schools with greater managerial authority and responsibility and to develop the planning, administration and monitoring capacity of the provincial, zonal and divisional levels of the education system.
"The program will help the country develop a foundation for the skills needed for the global economy of the future, and the ethics and values required for good citizenship in a modern democracy," Dr Harsha Aturupane, Lead Education Specialist and Task Team Leader of the operation has said.
"This country programme will not only assist the government to improve the school curriculum to better reflect modern international trends in curriculum practice. It will also enhance soft skills needed for better jobs in the future and support the renewal of key core values for future generations,"
World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka Diarietou Gaye has said.About 4 million school children, around 215,000 school teachers, 15,000 principals and 3,500 education managers and administrators will directly benefit from the TSEP programme.
According to the global funding agency, there are approximately 1.6 million primary school students and 2.4 million secondary school students among the 4 million students in Sri Lanka.
The TSEP will indirectly benefit school communities of about 10,000 schools, the households of 4 million school children, the contractors of school infrastructure and suppliers of educational equipment, and the academics and researchers who will receive support for research and evaluation activities.
The development initiatives supported by this project are a high priority within the general education sector in Sri Lanka.
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Japan grants 60 million rupees to renovate pre-schools in Eastern Sri Lanka
Fri, Dec 2, 2011, 02:46 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 01, Colombo: The Government of Japan has provided US$ 541,620 (approximately Rs. 60 million) in assistance for an early childhood care and development project in Trincomalee district of Eastern Sri Lanka.
a Japanese NGO, Save the Children Japan (SCJ) will implement the project titled "Early Childhood Care and Development Project in Trincomalee District, Phase 3", a follow up project from two previous projects to construct and renovate preschools and provide training for pre-school teachers in the district.
Ambassador of Japan Nobuhito Hobo and Katsuya Yoshida, a representative of SCJ signed the grant contract Thursday (01) at the Embassy of Japan in Colombo.According to the Embassy, the phase 3 project aims to develop sustainable system to offer early childcare by improving networks within communities and with local authorities, providing trainings for pre-school teachers and community members, and constructing preschools for the children of recently resettled communities.
The project is expected to benefit more than 1,000 families and their community members.The SCJ representative has said that their mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the children are treated.
"This project aims that all stakeholders including local authorities, communities, teachers, and children themselves become aware that they are the very agent that can bring lasting changes in children's lives," the official has said.
The project is realized by the Japan-NGO Cooperation Grant Scheme, which supports economic and social developments and emergency humanitarian reliefs through Japanese NGOs.
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Estate officers in Sri Lanka threaten to launch strike
Fri, Dec 2, 2011, 09:45 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 02, Colombo: Estate officers in Sri Lanka say they would commence a strike action that would severely affect the estate sector if the estate owners fail to provide solutions to the existing salary anomalies.
Head of the Lanka Estate Services Association, Dhammika Jayawardena says that about 500 workers from 22 estates would join the strike action.He has pointed out that the EPF and ETF monies due to the estate workers have not been properly deposited by the estate owners since 2001.
He has observed that there were many issues in the estate sector that needed to be looked into by the authorities.
However, Jayawardena has noted that the estate officers played a key role in the estate sector from the planting of a crop till the harvesting of the yield and a strike action would therefore cripple the entire sector.
