Two Men Drowned During Sea Bath At Galle Face Green-One Was Saved

One out of the two men who drowned during their sea bath at Galle Face Green this evening was saved while other has gone  missing  the Police have announced.The saved man WAS admitted to the Colombo National Hospital.

The Police and Navy Officers have launched a joint search operation to trace  the missing person.

Health Authorities Will Never Implement The National Drug Policy-Health Trade unions

The Health Authorities here will never implement the much talked about National Drug Policy at all due to the influence of multi national drug companies the Health Trade Union Leaders have stressed.The Drug Policy which the health ministers in the recent past have been pledged that they will implement it soon since 1991 has now become a white elephant according to the Health Trade Union Leaders.

The original National Drug Policy which is based on Professor Senaka Bibile's national drug policy was approved by the cabinet in the year 2005 but it has changed later by some health officials  which was highly criticized by many professionals in the country.Due to the heavy criticisms made against the changed drug policy Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena  has instructed the health ministry officials last June to amend it  and submitted to the Parliamentary Select Committee for the approval.

However since three and half months have elapsed  since the minister's direction the whereabouts on drug policy has gone with the wind the Health Trade Union Leaders have said.

Government Allied Party JHU To Forward Eight Resolutions To The Government

One of the allied parties of the Government Coalition the Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU) Party has passed eight resolutions during their annual convention  held yesterday to be forwarded to the government in Colombo including the reducing the present Cabinet Of Ministers to 25 members  and  abolishing the executive presidency before the forthcoming presidential elections the party sources have said.

The 11th Party Convention of the JHU was held yesterday in Colombo .The passed resolutions were read to the gathering by the Western Provincial Councilor of JHU Udaya Gammanpila.

Reducing the number of Deputy Ministers in the government to 35 members ,President should be answerable to the Parliament and non career diplomats in the Sri Lankan Foreign Services should be comprised of  35 percent of the total are among the passed resolutions.

Bangladesh To Export 50,000 Metric Tonnes Of Rice To Sri Lanka

Bangladesh has agreed to export 50,000 Metric Tonnes of Rice to Sri Lanka per the request made by the  local government .Sri Lankan Government has made  this decision to importing  the  rice from Bangladesh to avoid a possible  rice shortage in local market as the drought in the dry zone destroyed  the local paddy harvest .

Earlier Bangladeshi Government has decided to sell the rice US Dollars 493 per metric tonne but changed it's decision and agreed to the price US Dollars 450 per metric tonne produced by Sri Lankan Government.

Bangladeshi Government has agreed to export the said stock of rice to Sri Lanka although their policy is  not exporting rice to any country in view of  avoiding  a possible food shortage in the country.

Water Levels Of Kalu And Gin Rivers Are On The Rise -People Reside Nearby Areas Advised To Be In Alert

The water levels of the Kalu River(Sabaragamuwa Province)  and Gin River (Southern Province) are rising rapidly since yesterday(18) the Department Of Irrigation has announced.Due to this situation the department has advised the people reside in low lying areas close to these rivers to be in alert on this .

The water levels of Nilwala River has also risen but now it's depleting the sources said.Several areas in Galle and Kalutara Districts are under floods due to the continuous rain fall experienced since yesterday.

Continuous Heavy Showers Have Flooded Some Parts In Galle-100 Families have Been Displaced

Due to the Heavy Showers falling since yesterday evening five  rural  areas in Galle District  
(Southern Province) are in floods with water levels in some areas are high as seven feet   the Disaster Management Center (DMC) has announced.

Yakkalamulla,Bandungala,Polpagoda,Kaludiyawela and Walpala areas are under floods now and around 100 families reside in those areas are being displaced due to this DMC has said.

Transport is paralyzed in flooded areas and the rescue efforts and distribution of dried rations to  those families who got trapped due to the floods has become difficult for the authorities up to now according to the Divisional Secretariat in Galle.The navy has been using a special boat for the rescue efforts.

Meanwhile the Meteorological Department has announced today that the heavy showers up to 150 mili meters are expecting in most parts of the island during  next 24 hours.

Showers With Lightning To Be Continued In Coming Days

Due to the  disturbance occurred in atmosphere   showers with lightning  will occur in many parts of the country during coming days both afternoon and night the Meteorological Department has announced.There's a possibility of having Heavy Showers up to 100 mili meters in some parts of the country as well the Department has stressed.

In Northern,Eastern and Southern coastal a
reas showers are likely to be there during mornings too