Water level in Kelani River Dropping

The water level in the Kelani River is falling and should return to less than five feet during the next few days, the Irrigation Department said.   

Director General of the department S. S. L Weerasinghe said water levels had dropped to six feet, a foot below the major flood level.   Water level in the Kelani River, Nagalagama Street rose to nearly eight feet flooding Colombo’s suburbs.    

First Sri Lankan to climb the summit of Mount Everest

Jayanthi Kuru-Uthumpaala became the first Sri Lankan to climb to the summit of Mount Everest earlier on Saturday, May 21.

The news was confirmed by the Everest Support Team. Meanwhile, Johann Peiris is currently making his bid to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Mt. Everest located between Nepal and Tibet is 8,848 metres or 29,029 feet above sea level.

The roof of the world was untouched by humans until Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay ascended, on the 29th of May, 1953

Vesak messages

Today, the Vesak Day, the Buddhists the world over elebrate the Birth, Enlightenment and the Mahaparinirvana of the Gauthama Buddha, the greatest religious visionary lived 2560 years ago, with unparallelled compassion and kindness towards the fellow human beings, President Maithripala Sirisena stated in a message to mark Vesak.

The message: “The Buddha, after attaining the way to traverse sorrow through wisdom, taught the path to achieve spiritual and physical tranquility. With the understanding of the human being, the surroundings and also the universe, the Gauthama taught an all inclusive, comprehensive Dhamma which is timeless. It has encompassed the development of knowledge and wisdom, discipline of one’s sense, spiritual tranquility, selflessness and such practices that result in the betterment of the human society.

Although, the Buddha told us that emancipation could be achieved through spiritual development and wisdom, we are gradually distancing from this noble truth. The society is our common stage. There are many performances on this stage. Our display of devotion, truthfulness, purity, and selflessness are mere dishonest acts than honest deeds. There is no validity of our Buddhist label if we are unable to control our sinful thoughts arisen in our minds through our wisdom.

Where there is wisdom, compassion, kindness, equanimity, human devotion, tranquility, discipline, righteousness, selflessness and simplicity, you find Buddhism. The Buddhist way of life is to respect peace and humanity.

The path to overcome greed, hatred, fear and ignorance is necessary not only for the social existence but also for the good governance. The Buddhist minds should develop the aspirations of a society in which there is no distinction of race, caste, religion or social status.

Many people believe that the religious life is the practices of offering flowers, listening to religious sermons and visiting temples on Poya days. However, the real Buddhist is the one who works for the betterment and the contentment of the masses. May all Buddhists act with determination to the path that leads to the emancipation of the people. Let us first correct ourselves and then attempt to correct others.

With compassionate mind, I wish you a joyful Vesak celebration!”

Let us bring our lives in line with sublime message of Dhamma: PM

As we celebrate the thrice blessed Vesak Day once again, we are reminded of the true values of the Buddha enshrined – Metta, Muditha, Karuna and Upekkha which must be the ideals that are upheld in a sincere spiritual awakening towards building social goodwill and harmony, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated in a message to mark Vesak.

The message: “Vesak is not only the most sacred day to all Buddhists but it also signifies a greater message of love and compassion for mankind; it places a responsibility on us as Buddhists to lead lives that are truly in line with the teachings of the Buddha. Let us strive to right the wrongs, substitute positivity for negativity, replace anger with compassion, meet hatred with love, overtake evil with good and replace lies with the truth.

This Vesak, as always, let us bring our lives in line with the sublime message of the Dhamma ; let us re-dedicate ourselves towards experiencing a fresh sense of spiritual guidance towards the right path of enlightenment, engaging in a spirit of sharing and compassionate co-existence.

Our government has taken an initiative concerning greater uplift of the Buddha Sasana and The Sangha Society while ensuring the well being of the people, towards a goal of building and sustaining a just and a compassionate society.

May all beings be happy and may the enlightenment of Vesak truly light the path of understanding and loving kindness for all.”

Have virtuous thoughts in minds: Opposition Leader

Vesak Poya day is very important and sacred for Buddhists in the world who commemorate the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and passing away with great devotion, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan stated in a message to mark Vesak.

The message: “It is my privilege as the leader of the Opposition of Parliament to extend my good wishes to all Sri Lankans on this great Poya Day.

I extend my good wishes to everyone in the world and urge them to have virtuous thoughts in their minds following the observances of the Dhamma eliminating the thoughts of jealousy, hate and cruelty and also work towards the dawn of world peace establishing quality and co-existence among all communities, creating a society which follows the five precepts in accordance with the guidance preached by the Buddha.

I wish you all a happy Vesak festival.”

Miss Intercontinental Sri lanka

The world of Beauty and Glamour came alive on Sunday at the Colombo Hilton, when a cohort of Beautiful Young Women attended the Preliminary 1st stage interviews for the Miss Intercontinental Sri Lanka Pageant, organized by the Rotary Club of Colombo West.

Notwithstanding the weather, the strong turnout was a testament to the interest garnered for this event, which is sure to be an important evening in Colombo's social Calendar. The attendees showed immense poise and positivity, and a keen interest in promoting this Beautiful Country on a global platform, if given the opportunity to wear the Crown.

The Rotary Club of Colombo West  hopes raise funds through this Pageant for its Humanitarian Projects including building Dialysis Centers in Pollannaruwa and NuwaraEliya as it did in Padaviya at a cost of 30 Million Rs in 2014.

The Event and the Club will be ably supported by its Partners & Sponsors such as The Colombo Hilton,, Lakehouse Group, Odel, Havelock City,  BMW, Akshata Rice, LG Abans, Holmes Pollard,  Peoples leasing, Buddhi Batiks, and Rum Punch Swim Wear, the event also has additional support in the form of Hair & makeup from Ramani Fernando Salons, Figure/Healthy diet guidance from CW Nutrition and Fitness, and Backstage support from Raffles Design Institute and the Laska Model Agency.

This event combines the global opportunities afforded by the Miss Intercontinental Pageant, with the core values of the multinationalRotary Club, to bring about an event of international standards.

The overall event is creative directed by Dinesh Chandrasena, who envisions an amalgamation of Beauty, intelligence, style, and social awareness, that culminates with the grand finale at the Hilton Grand Ballroom.

58 Dead - Over 420,000 Affected Amidst Cyclone Warning

As rescue operations continued and amidst a warning of a cyclone to hit Sri Lanka, at least 58 people were killed, another 144 were missing, and over 420,000 were affected from the floods and landslides across the country, following torrential rains, the worst since 1992.

The situation didn’t show signs of improving, with the Meteorology Department issuing a warning of a possibility of heavy rain between 100mm to 150mm over the next 24 hours in certain parts of the country, which could lead to disastrous consequences if the water levels in the Kelaniya River continued to rise, which could leave thousands more destitute and even affect the country’s water and electricity supply.

Hope also ran out for at least 134 people who went missing after the landslide in Aranayake, Kegalle which buried three villages on Tuesday. A military official said that he feared the missing 134 could be dead. During rescue operations, only some 16 bodies were recovered, and the rescue operations had to be halted as rains continued and warnings were issued of more landslides.

As rescue operations continues across several flood afflicted districts including in Colombo, the international community also came forward extending their assistance to Sri Lanka. At a meeting on Thursday afternoon between Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, the Heads of Diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka had assured their assistance to the government and the victims.

The Education Ministry also ordered all schools in the country to be closed on Friday on account of the inclement weather.

Meanwhile, amidst allegations that only a limited number of boats were used by the Navy to carry out rescue missions in Colombo such as Wellampitiya and other affected areas, President Maithripala Sirisena ordered the Navy to deploy more boats and rescue people who are currently stranded in areas which are currently flooded. Sirisena also called on health authorities to be mindful of the possible outbreak of waterborne diseases, and instructed authorities to take necessary measure to prevent and ensure such an outbreak will not get out of hand.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe urged everyone to join hands, as teamwork was what Sri Lanka needed at this time. He also assured that the military and the police will be deployed across all affected areas, to safeguard the belongings of the victims who have being evacuated due to floods and landslides.

Water supply to Colombo threatened !

The supply of water to Colombo will come to a complete halt if the 13 supply pipelines at Ambatale purification plant get submerged by another three feet, say sources at the purification plant.

It supplies 530,000 litres to Colombo each day.

The water level of Kelani River has gone up to 7.4 feet according to the Nagalagam Street water gauge, which is a high risk level of flooding.

A minor flooding occurs when the water level is at between three and five feet, high risk flooding when it is between five and nine feet, and a major flooding if it goes over nine feet.

The biggest flooding in recent history occurred in 1989, said irrigation director Hema Hettiarachchi.

Heavy rainfall and thunder showers around the Island

According the Department of Meteorology, the depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified in to a deep depression and now located to about 500km north of Kankasanturai. It is further moving away from the island.

The Department added that there is a high possibility to sudden increase of rain in the South-western part of the country. If so, heavy rainfall between 100-150mm is expected at some places.

Strong windy conditions over the country and in the sea areas around the island will continue during next few days due to meeting of wind feeding to the system.

Furthermore, showers or thunder showers will occur at times in North-Western, Western, Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in the Galle, Matara and Mannar districts.

Showers or thunder showers will occur at several places in the Anuradhapura and Hambanthota districts.

Facebook safety check for Sri Lankan flood victims

With severe floods and landslide being reported from all parts of the island, many families and relatives are left wondering if their loved ones have reached a safe area or have been left stranded somewhere needing assistance.

The rapid floods and landslide have not only taken over 37 lives as of now, it has left thousands homeless needing assistance. The property damage is not limited to houses but has severely affected infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The power lines have been also affected disrupting essential services during this calamity period.

Modes of communication has been also severely affected due to lack of electricity in some areas as well as due to damage caused to the communication infrastructure.

Now Sri Lankans with a Facebook account are given the opportunity to mark yourself or someone you know as safe. This allows those searching for a person through Facebook to have an idea, if a person has reached safety or not.

Facebook allows users to; “Let your friends know you're OK by marking yourself safe.”  As well as  “Check on Friends Quickly find and connect with friends in the area. Mark them safe if you know they're OK.”

Facebook has used this safety check feature earlier in disaster situations to assist friends and families know if their loved ones have reached safety. This feature has been used during the recent Nepal earthquakes, the Paris attack, the Brussels attack, and last year during the South Indian floods.