The much delayed Vehicle Emission Testing Certificate programme began yesterday. All registered vehicles in the Western Province will have to get the VET Certificate to obtain the annual revenue license.
However, brand new vehicles would be exempt from this regulation for a period of one year from the date of registration.

The Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council, which inspected 3,100 premises on Wednesday, found mosquito breeding grounds in 409 of them. 180 were given notice under the mosquito borne diseases ordinance.

A resource centre to promote rain harvesting in Sri Lanka will be established in Battaramulla, Media Minister Anura Priydharshana Yapa said.
"A 15-perch land, on a 30 year lease, has been approved for the project by the Cabinet of Ministers, on a proposal by the Urban Development and Sacred Area Development Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena."

A new era will dawn in a part of the Hambantota district with the completion of the Kekiri Obada and Weheragala reservoir projects.
On completion of this project 5,000 farmer families will be benefitted and 5,611 hectares could be irrigated.

The current weather condition which has displaced nearly 35000 and cost one death, would end in a few more days, Meteorology Department predicted yesterday. However, people are advised to take precautionary measures to minimize possible disasters caused by the north east monsoon rains expected to commence in the first week of November.

Some official of the Tambuttegama Agricultural Research Centre in Anuradahapura are alleged to have collected over Rs 5 million from farmers in the area, on the promise of supplying fertilizer at subsidised prices, but had failed to supply the fertilizer nor given receipts for the monies collected.

The Hadabima Authority has initiated a number of special agricultural projects and the Agriculture and Agrarian Services Ministry has released the required funds to the authority to go ahead with the projects.

A large number of paddy farmers in the Gampaha, Kalutara, Matale, Kandy, Kurunegala, Matara and Hambantota districts are reported to have contracted leptospyrosis since the beginning of this year.

The Supreme Court yesterday rejected the motion seeking bail for Venerable Pannala Pragnaloka Thera of the Welikadawatte Temple Rajagiriya who had been remanded on a Supreme Court order for failing to answer notice to appear before the Court.

A new programme Nildiyawara was launched to dredge sand deposited in fisheries harbours at the Fisheries Harbour in Negombo on Thursday (28), the Fisheries Ministry said.
Minister Felix Perera also opened a fishing net mending centre at the fisheries harbour.
The cost of the entire project was 200 million rupees. About 5,000 fishermen and about 400 deep sea fishing trawler crews will benefit from the project, the release noted.
Associated with the minister at the event was Deputy Minister of Aviation Sarath Gunaratne and Ministry Secretary G. Piyasena.