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Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says the government is inflicting severe financial hardship on local growers through unnecessary rice imports and unfulfilled promises.

Speaking at a Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Sathkaraya event in Dehuwala, Galewela, he highlighted the plight of rural farming communities who continue to struggle despite a recorded surplus in domestic production.

Flawed import strategy

According to official figures cited by the Opposition Leader, national paddy production stands at roughly 3.2 million metric tons, comfortably exceeding Sri Lanka's annual domestic requirement of 2.5 million metric tons.

He expressed strong criticism over the government's decision to import around 382,000 metric tons of rice regardless of this excess, noting that such moves directly contradict the stance the ruling party took while in opposition.

Premadasa argued that this policy heavily penalises local growers of paddy, maize, and potatoes.

Furthermore, he pointed out that while the Agriculture Minister acknowledged in Parliament that producing a kilogram of paddy costs approximately Rs. 137, the state guaranteed purchase price remains fixed at just Rs. 120 per kilogram, leaving farmers to absorb a net loss of Rs. 17 for every kilogram sold.

Unfulfilled pledges

The Opposition Leader emphasised that nearly two years after taking power, the government has failed to enact promised legislation establishing a legally binding guaranteed paddy price of Rs. 150 per kilogram.

He observed that despite a state allocation of Rs. 7,500 million intended to empower small and medium scale millers, farmers across the country are still unable to sell their harvest effectively, even as official purchasing signboards appear in rural villages without actual buying taking place.

He also warned that rising poverty levels affecting up to 40 percent of the population, factory closures, and potential climate disruptions like El Niño and La Niña pose grave threats to the national economy.

Premadasa called for urgent state intervention and relief measures to safeguard rural livelihoods and maintain key growth sectors like tourism.

Dry weather conditions linked to the El Niño phenomenon have affected more than 81,000 people across seven districts in Sri Lanka, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

The DMC said 23 Divisional Secretariat divisions have been affected, with a total of 81,865 people from 25,628 families impacted by the conditions.

In response, authorities have begun supplying drinking water to communities in 20 affected Divisional Secretariat divisions.

The water distribution programme is currently providing drinking water to 72,153 people from 23,048 families.

Monaragala has recorded the largest number of people receiving drinking water. Supplies have been provided to 33,023 people from 10,264 families across seven Divisional Secretariat divisions in the district.

In Batticaloa, drinking water is being distributed to 28,523 people from 9,547 families across eight Divisional Secretariat divisions.

Meanwhile, 7,882 people from 2,537 affected families in two Divisional Secretariat divisions in Ampara are receiving drinking water supplies.

The DMC continues to coordinate the distribution of drinking water to communities affected by the dry weather conditions.

The body of a doctor attached to the Badulla Hospital, who had earlier been reported missing, has been found in the Mapakadawewa area of Mahiyanganaya.

The body was discovered on a rock in the area, according to initial information.

The circumstances surrounding the doctor’s death have not been disclosed.

The daily drinking water allocation for communities affected by shortages caused by the prevailing dry weather has been increased from 6 litres to 15 litres per person, according to the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC).

NDRSC Senior Assistant Secretary Prageeth Danansooriya said at a media briefing today (24) that water distribution to affected communities is continuing without interruption.

He said the increase in the daily allocation was made on the instructions of the President.

Funds have also been allocated to clean and restore wells and other water sources required to support the ongoing supply of drinking water, Danansooriya said.

Financial allocations have already been provided to the District Secretaries of the affected districts to carry out the necessary work, while additional funding will be provided if required.

Relief operations are being coordinated through the respective District Secretaries.

Members of the public facing difficulties in accessing drinking water have been advised to inform their local Grama Niladhari (GN) officer. The information can then be communicated to the relevant Divisional Secretary so that the required assistance can be coordinated and provided.

The mother of former State Intelligence Service (SIS) director Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, requesting that her son’s detention period not be extended.

In a letter delivered to the Presidential Secretariat, she clarified that she was not asking for an end to any ongoing investigations into allegations against her son.

She urged authorities to ensure that all inquiries are conducted strictly on the basis of evidence to establish the facts, while appealing to the President to allow Sallay the opportunity to face the law freely.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) reported strong public participation during its ongoing grassroots re-organisation drive in the Anuradhapura District, claiming widespread opposition is mounting against the government's economic policies and governance track record.

Speaking to the media, SJB MP Ajith Perera acknowledged that while party activists faced a setback following losses in the last three elections, public sentiment has shifted due to growing concerns over government mistakes and alleged corruption.

Under the direction of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, SJB parliamentarians and electorate organisers spent the past two days conducting small-scale meetings across every polling division in Anuradhapura to establish branch committees and electoral bodies.

During these outreach sessions, local farmers voiced strong discontent over the lack of fair pricing for paddy.

Perera noted that although the government announced a purchasing price of 120 rupees per kilogramme, farmers are receiving significantly less and are being forced to either store their harvests at home or sell at a loss.

He said that agricultural producers require a fair price of at least 135 to 140 rupees per kilogramme to remain viable.

Perera also accused the government of interfering with the judiciary and eroding public faith in legal fairness.

He challenged the NPP government to test the proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment through a national referendum rather than relying on its two-thirds parliamentary majority, predicting that voters in Anuradhapura—where President Anura Kumara Dissanayake previously secured heavy support—would decisively reject the government's legislative push.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says the government has betrayed Sri Lankan farmers by failing to implement a promised guaranteed price for paddy, despite being in office for two years.

Speaking at an event in Devahuwa, Galewela, to donate a water purification system to a local community organisation, Premadasa pointed out that while the Agriculture Minister stated in Parliament that producing a kilo of paddy costs Rs. 137, the government fixed the guaranteed price at just Rs. 120 per kilo, imposing a Rs. 17 loss on farmers for every kilo produced.

The Opposition Leader criticised the government for importing 382,000 metric tonnes of rice despite the country producing 3.2 million metric tonnes against an annual requirement of 2.5 million metric tonnes.

He stated that while paddy, maize, and potato farmers were left destitute, the NPP government prioritized raising the retirement age of judges over addressing the immediate economic hardships of the public.

Warning of future environmental challenges, the Opposition Leader highlighted that extreme weather events like El Niño and La Niña could dry up water sources, pushing national poverty levels to between 30 and 40 per cent and threatening factory closures.

Addressing his party's record, Premadasa claimed that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya remains the only political party to serve the public using non-state resources while in opposition since independence, expressing confidence that political truth would prevail by 2029 despite social media campaign attacks.

A landslide at a landfill in Guinea's capital killed 30 people, ​the government said on Sunday, after heavy rains overnight prompted the ‌collapse of a massive mound of waste that engulfed nearby tents and shacks.

The incident occurred less than a week after the government announced plans to close the site and relocate the waste ​because of the threat it posed, especially during the ongoing rainy season, ​which causes landslides and fatal flash floods each year in crowded, ⁠underdeveloped cities across parts of West Africa.

The landslide took place at around 2 a.m. (0200 ​GMT) in the Gbessia commune of Conakry, according to a government statement. The death ​toll was 30, with six people seriously injured and 16 more lightly injured, the statement said.

Rescue workers were using excavators and other tools to clear the site of the landslide, which witnesses ​said was large enough to bury an apartment building along with more precarious ​dwellings.

One woman, Cire Diallo, told reporters at the scene that her five children were killed. "I have ‌lost all ⁠my children. All I can do is put my trust in God," she said.

Guinea holds the world's largest bauxite reserves and richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, where a massive mining project was launched in November. But the West African country ​has poor infrastructure and ​widespread poverty, with ⁠3.7 million of its 15.1 million people living on less than $4.20 per day, according to a World Bank report published in ​April.

Guinea's minister of territorial administration, Djenab Toure, announced on Thursday that the ​government was ⁠closing the landfill because it was unsafe and said the waste was to be relocated outside Conakry.

Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah visited the landfill on Sunday to assess the ⁠damage and ​supervise the response, the government statement said, adding ​that people should "remain calm, show solidarity, and strictly follow the instructions of rescue services and the competent authorities."

Source: Reuters