A programme has been launched to beautify the city of Colombo at a cost of Rs 374 million in time for the forthcoming SAARC Summit, Mayor of Colombo U. M. Imitiyaz said.

He said that was the first time the CMC had expended such a huge amount of funds on a city improvement project.

The Project included rehabilitation of the Sathutu Uyana and the road network in the city, repairs street lighting system and colour washing of the state building.

The Environment Ministry said that of 1,730 kilogrammes of garbage collected in Anuradhapura during the Poson season, the major components were plastic and polythene. It was the highest garbage collection even though fewer pilgrims participated, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said.

There were also 104 kilogrammes of polythene and plastic collected in the Polonnaruwa sacred city.

Around 32,000 have been settled within a land area of 80,000 acres, expending of Rs. 32,000 million by the government, to enhance rice production in the country under the Mahaweli development programme. The main water supply to the H zone is from Kalawewa reservoir which has a capacity to irrigate 27,000 acres of land. But later more and more land was brought under paddy cultivation in excess of the water available to feed the crops. Ultimate result was the shortage of water for nearly 53,000 acres of paddy cultivation.

The government is planning to scrap the fertiliser subsidy, the UNP said yesterday. Kalutara District UNP MP, Sarath Ranawaka told a news conference in Colombo, that the government having promised to boost agricultural production was cooking up excuses to deprive the farmers of the meagre fertiliser subsidy. "As in the case of all promises made under the Mahinda Chintana, the stage is being set to forget the fertiliser subsidy as well."

A new road connecting Dehiowita, Deraniyagala and Noori Plantation will be built at a cost of 100 million rupees, the biggest road construction project in the area after the British built roads for plantations, Minister of Consumer Affairs and Cooperatives H. R. Mithrapala said yesterday (14). Since the area had several tea and rubber plantations, the new road will benefit the plantations as well as the villages, he said.

Setting forest reserve on fire was an act of terrorism, which had to be dealt with just like the Northern terrorism, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Patali Champika Ranawaka said in Kandy yesterday. He said so answering a question raised by journalists at a press conference on the forest fire which cut a swathe through the Knuckles forest reserve last week.

Thimphu: The 16th SAARC summit has adopted an Indian proposal for a roadmap to create a SAARC market for electricity.

The summit urged the member countries to quickly ratify the trade in services deal to open their service sectors.

"The leaders recognised the need to enhance co-operation in the energy sector to facilitate energy trade, development of efficient conventional and renewable ener

Hemas Power, a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings PLC, announced an Initial Public Offering for 31.3 million ordinary shares which will be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange hoping to raise between Rs. 532 million and Rs. 626 million to fund projects in non-conventional renewable energy generation.

The second oil crisis of 1979 had just ended when the Government of Sri Lanka decided in 1982 to place energy efficiency and demand management as the top priority, with the energy ministry functioning directly under the President.

Sri Lanka has been identified as the `Hot Spot of Solar Energy Applications at two European Union solar energy conferences in Paris and Milan, a world renowned Sri Lankan born Professor of Electronics Materials and Devices who has been actively researching on solar energy over the past three decades, said.