Six People rescued from watery grave

Six people who were in difficulty after falling into the Mahaweli Maha Ela feeding the Loggal Oya reservoir near the bridge on Badulla - Mahiyangana Road were rescued by Weerasinghe Mudiyanselage Ariyapala alias Thilak, 32.

Ariyapala's daring rescue act has been recorded on a CCTV camera installed in a nearby shop. The survivors of this encounter were a group from Chilaw on a pleasure trip to Uva.

D.M. Sudukuma and Saman Wickramage, owner s of nearby restaurants who were eye witness to the encounter said the group travelling in a van had stopped over near the bridge to enjoy a bath in the ela. They said as the group was getting ready, a two-and a half-year-old infant accompanied by them fell off the bridge into the ela.

Five others including a woman who waded into the ela in turns to rescue the infant, were dragged away by the current.

It was around 3.00 p.m. on December 26.

Ariyapala who heard the cries of the group quickly ventured into the ela and rescued each one by one with the help of the neighbours who rushed to his assistance.

Thilak is a bachelor who had lost both his parents. 

Minister SB knows not what his salary is

Social Empowerment and Welfare Minister S.B. Dissanayake, who is often seen as a rough and tough character, yesterday admitted that his finances are handled by the wife and he does not even check his pay sheet.

Dissanayake, answering a question raised during a press briefing yesterday, said he has always been comfortable with his wife handling his finances and he does not even look at his pay sheet.

He made the comment when a question was raised on whether the salaries of MPs were increased recently.

Dissanayake said, since the wife handles finances, he is unaware of the exact salary and the allowances he receives.

He further said that it is important that ministers and MPs receive a good salary as it prevents them from looking for alternative ways of earning money, such as through corruption.

"In Singapour salaries of MPs were very high. Late Singapour Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew once said that his ministers may receive the highest salaries, but they remain amongst the poorest. It reflects the need of a high salary to combat corruption," added Dissanayake.

UNP MPs To meet the President

A group of junior United National Party (UNP) MPs are to meet President Maithripala Sirisena on 30 December in a bid to end the continuous squabbles between the UNP and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MPs and Ministers.

These junior MPs have stated that UNP and SLFP MPs are slandering each other in public and that this is adversely affecting the government.

The meeting comes in a sequel to a request for a discussion on this issue, to the President, by the junior UNP MPs. The meeting has been fixed for 4 p.m. on 30 December.

MP Mujibur Rahuman told the Media that close to 50 MPs are expected to meet the President to discuss the adverse effects of verbal clashes between MPs of both parties and the government's plans in 2017. They will also discuss the issue relating to the proposed purchase of 58 vehicles for MPs.

Susanthika Jayasinghe at ICU

Olympic Medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe was today admitted to the Diyathalawa Hospital due to a sudden illness, Hospital sources said. She was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Hospital. 

She was reported to have gone to Diyathalawa to attend a function.

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake passes away

Former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has passed away at the age of 83. 

The former PM had been admitted to the ICU of a leading private hospital on December 21. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2010.

Wickremanayake was educated at the Millewa Primary School, Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya, Hartley College, Point Pedro and at Ananda College, Colombo. 

He later Lincoln's Inn to become a Barrister of Law, but ultimately chose to enter politics rather than appear for the exam. Wickremanayake returned to Sri Lanka following the demise of his elder brother Munidasa who was in active politics representing the Western Province parliamentary seat of Horana. Wickremanayake joined the SLFP in 1962 and was a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party for over 60 years.

Bomb Scare Delays Badulla Night Train

A bomb scare delayed last night's train to Badulla from Colombo Fort by two hours after the police got a tip off that there was a suspected parcel in the train. 

The police, along with the STF, searched the train after evacuating all passengers. However, they were unable to find any suspicious parcels. The train took off at 10.25 p.m., after a delay of over two hours.

Father abandons three children in bus

Three children abandoned by their father in a bus were taken under the care of Hatton Police yesterday.

The children are 13, 10 and eight years. The children’s father who had left them in a bus had promised to return with some food. However, he had not returned and Hatton Police took the children under their care.

The man had later called Hatton Police and said that he had missed the bus and told the police officers to keep the children until he returned. The man however had not come. Police said the man had also switched off his mobile phone. The children’s mother is employed abroad as a house maid.

Police nab robbers using GPS technology

Officers of the Crimes Investigation Division of the Kadawatha Police have succeeded in taking into custody within an hour of the robbery, a vehicle carrying Rs 2.6 million worth of cash and cigarettes, which was taken at gun point at about 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The robbers had used a locally manufactured Galkatas type of firearm and carried out the hijacking at Bathiya Mawatha, Makola, Kiribathgoda.

The robbers had arrived when the vehicle belonging to a cigarette agency located in Kadawatha had stopped on Bathiya Mawatha, Makola, in Kiribathgoda, to conduct business at a shop, when they had accosted the vehicle, brandishing the firearm, and got away in it.

At that juncture the driver had informed the owner. As the vehicle had been fixed with GPS facilities, the owner had run to the Kadawatha Police Station with his laptop in hand.

Accordingly, the Kadawatha Police, Crimes Investigation Division officers had taken immediate action and pursued the stolen van and the robbers with the help of GPS technology.

The robber had hit the Police vehicle and fled. Police had pursued and caught up with the robbers at Rathupaswela and taken into custody the van and the robbers.

Police had recovered Rs 1,857,000 in cash and cigarettes valued at Rs 769,770 that were in the vehicle.

Police said the individual involved in the robbery was released from prison only 12 days ago, having been sentenced to prison for robbing Rs 5 million from a Bank in Attidiya.