Transparency and corruption in public service

Rs.720 Million Unresolved Elephant-Human Conflict

Admin August 31, 2021 759

Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi According to information obtained from the Department of Wildlife under the Right to Information Act, Rs.722 million worth of firecrackers (6,468,750 individual crackers) were distributed from 2014 to 2020 to stem the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka.  Sri

Transparency and corruption in public service

An Order From the Information Commission to the Police Against Withholding Information

Admin August 30, 2021 747

Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi In Sri Lanka, many public authorities inadvertently block the public’s right to information guaranteed by the Right to Information Act. Therefore, the right to information, a hallmark of a democratic society, is under serious threat. Integrity, which is dependent on the efficiency of a country’s public authorities, is a distinctive

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

The Ongoing Nilavarai Controversy

Admin August 30, 2021 824

Partheepan The Valikamam area in ​​Jaffna which is widely respected for its historical antiquity and natural wonders has recently become a site of contention. Situated in Valikamam, Nilavarai is one of Jaffna’s key attractions drawing tourists including many from Sri Lanka’s south. For over a year and a half, the Nilavarai area has been deserted […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

A Vacuum in the Democratic Discourse as Displayed by the Killing of Vidushan

Admin August 30, 2021 879

Asanka Abeyratne            In Sri Lanka, torture and death in police custody have become commonplace practices over the last few decades. Almost all of the recent killings targeting underworld suspects in police custody were justified by the logic of “firing in self-defence” during raids on hidden weapons or drugs. The police’s […]

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Chinese and Tamil language confusion and the new crisis

Admin August 30, 2021 646

C.J. Amarathunga Several incidents of replacing the Tamil language with Chinese in the name boards of some projects funded by China were reported recently. One such incident was reported from the Colombo Port City project. The name board in its central garden area was in English, Sinhala, and Chinese. The Tamil language was not there, […]

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Provincial Councils, the Covid-19 Pandemic and the People

Admin August 30, 2021 1015

C. J. Amarathunga       It has been over a year since Sri Lanka first faced the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of writing, the country continues to be entrenched in a severe crisis. People’s lives are almost at a standstill due to constant closures and travel restrictions. Daily wagers have their revenue streams […]

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Conversion Costs Formula Example

Admin August 28, 2021 549

That’s why it is vital to keep a tab on metrics such as conversion cost. It can help you have these crucial discussions at the right juncture, and it also keeps your marketing teams on their toes. Moreover, it can help you turn your struggling campaigns into profitable ones. For instance, depreciation and electricity bills […]

Freedom of expression and fundamental rights

Child Labour: Slavery in the 21st Century

Admin August 27, 2021 1025

Kamanthi Wickramasinghe  Waking up early in the morning to walk 4-5 KM to school through unpaved, deserted roads and wooded patches in poor lighting – and often without a proper breakfast – is the common plight of a majority of children in Sri Lanka’s estate sector. The descendants of labour brought down from India and […]

Gender and Identity

I successfully fought battles outside but faced shocking challenges within the workplace

Admin August 27, 2021 838

Krishni Kandasami Ifham           There are many obstacles when working as a journalist in any part of the world but a female journalist faces greater challenges due to the inherently patriarchal nature of the field.    l started my journey as a journalist by joining a major Tamil newspaper at the peak […]

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Among the pages of a newspaper – With one memory…Lessons learnt from Nugelanda and the Pillayaradi fields…

Admin August 27, 2021 604

C. Dodawatte One day in the late nineties, I visited the village of Nugelanda on a reporting assignment. I cannot recall the exact dates, perhaps it was the year 1999. Nugelanda is a rural village in the Uhana Divisional Secretariat in the Ampara District. It was a border village that was frequently attacked by the […]