Urgent Alert on Our Physical Safet

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Several men and women who were sleeping in the struggle pandal around the Lourdes’ Church, Idinthakarai, reported with great concern and panic that they noticed four masked men with sharp weapons loitering around at 11:45 pm on April 14, 2013. As we are trying to ascertain the details and enquiring about the identity and background of these men, we hear about a heavy drinking party going on right now in the outskirts of Idinthakarai with the blessings and financing of some notorious local body leaders and local police officers. There seems to be a serious and deadly plan to incite violence at Idinthakarai and foil our struggle as we are digging up major corruption and substandard equipment scandals at the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).

It is pertinent to note here that we published four sets of documents on Zio-Podolsk, the discredited Russian company that has supplied substandard equipment and parts to the KKNPP, and publicized Adv. M. Radhakrishnan’s press release on Adv. Pugazhendi’s petition to the CBI about the irregularities in the supply of equipment and parts to the KKNPP.

Given the seriousness of the situation, we are planning to convene the Village Committee and the entire Idinthakarai community tomorrow (April 16, 2013) for a thorough appraisal of the situation and to enhance physical safety of our struggling people and the struggle committee members.

Please keep an eye on us here at Idinthakarai! Thank you!!

The Struggle Committee

People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)

Idinthakarai & P. O. 627 104

koodankulam@yahoo.com

Hotel rooms blocked for CHOGM now released

Monday, 15 April 2013 

Rooms in hotels in Colombo and Wadduwa were booked by the government for the period of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November to accommodate the visitors.

However, expectations of an increase in revenue for the country’s hospitality sector due to the CHOGM scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka this November have fallen with a decline in the expected number of visitors to the country during the summit.

Sources from the tourism industry have said that city hotels and the hotels in Wadduwa had earlier been asked not to release their rooms for visitors who are not part of the CHOGM summit and affiliated events.

The government to accommodate visitors for CHOGM who cannot be accommodated in city hotels booked hotel rooms in Wadduwa.

However, the government had informed the hotels in Wadduwa to release the rooms booked for the CHOGM summit since the expected number of visitors could easily be accommodated in city hotels.

This set back is expected to hit the hospitality sector that is currently faced with many issues.

The proposed electricity tariff revision and the 40 percent salary hike for hotel employees stipulated by the government have become a severe burden to the sector that has been trying hard to stay afloat.

Apart from these issues, the city hotels are faced with another problem in the call for a reduction in the minimum room rate.