If the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) personnel were found culpable of disappearances in Sri Lanka, the issue would be taken up with the Indian Government, Amnesty International (AI) General Secretary Salil Shetty said in Colombo today.
During a news briefing, the visiting General Secretary was asked whether the AI would take up the issue with the Indian government if it was found that IPKF was guilty of cases of disappearances during its stay in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990.
As a response, he said there has to be a proper investigation on what happened and who is accountable.
“If there is an investigation and at least the culpability of actors, we will take it up (with the Indian Government). That’s what Amnesty International does. We don’t spare anybody. You can be sure about that,” he said.
Referring to the two year extension given by the UN Human Rights Council to Sri Lanka to implement the UN Resolution, Shetty said the Government should utilize the extension to take action in order to deliver justice to the victims of the conflict and not to procrastinate.(Lahiru Pothmulla)
12 Little Known Laws of Karma (That Will Change Your Life) Wednesday, 5 April 2017 Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise Development Eran Wickramaratne yesterday told Parliament that no action had been taken to investigate allegations over the misuse of public funds by Gamini Senarath, the Chief of Staff of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Piyadasa Kudabalage, who functioned as Directors of the companies associated with controversial Canwill Holdings Ltd.
The Minister, responding to a question raised by JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, said: “Piyadasa Kudabalage has been paid a considerably large allowance of Rs. 600,000 on a monthly basis. During the period March 2012 until January 2015 he was paid a total of Rs. 20.8 million.”
According to the Minister, both Gamini Senarath and Piyadasa Kudabalage have only invested Rs. 10 each in the company, which started in December 2011, to receive a high allowance in return. The other investors of the company included Sri Lanka Insurance, which invested Rs. 5 billion, Litro Gas Rs. 450 million and the Employees Provident Fund Rs. 2.5 billion. Helanco Hotels and Spa Ltd. and Sino Lanka Hotels and Spa Ltd. are subsidiaries of Canwill Holdings. Helanco Hotels and Spa Ltd. was involved in constructing the Hambantota Hyatt while Sino Lanka Hotels and Spa Ltd. started construction of the Kollupitiya Hyatt.
The Government has now been forced to see through the previous regime’s short-sighted investment projects, Wickramaratne informed Parliament, adding that the Grand Hyatt project would cost the State a staggering Rs. 43 billion to complete.
“Despite questions about the viability of the venture, the Government will have to see it through as we will lose the money already spent if we abandon the project now,” Wickremaratne said.
Highlighting questions on the viability of the decision to invest in Hyatt hotels in Sri Lanka, Wickramaratne said the feasibility of government servants running a business should be evaluated.
“We can approach this in different ways; can government servants run a business? This was not done by business professionals. The investment for the Colombo Hyatt in 2012 was Rs. 20 billion and this increased to Rs. 27 billion in 2014. Now, as the Grand Hyatt the total cost has increased to Rs. 43 billion,” he explained. (AH)
(Lanka-e-News- 05.April.2017, 3.30PM) It is while the whole country is gripped by a most dangerous potential holocaust with diseases such as H1N1 influenza , dengue and similar deadly infectious fevers raging and fast spreading across the country , the terror doctors of the GMOA of Padeniyas and Soysas have sounded a murderous call to stage a doctors’ strike on the 7 th.
The Padeniyas by staging this strike are seeking to create a record for the Guiness book purely based on their atrocity and bestiality despite being doctors for , this is the first time in the world , doctors are staging a strike to close down an active six years old medical College !
Moreover , these doctors , if they do strike will go down in history as the worst heartless ruthless medical villains the world had ever known since they are staging a strike while their motherland is being threatened most ominously by three deadly fast spreading infectious fevers , unless of course their next plan is to ‘sell’ the body of a student who dies of the fever on the day of strike to ‘buy’ selfish popularity .
Though Lanka e news warned about this lethal infectious fever and its spreading like wild fire about a month ago , it had been made impossible to curb and control this fatal infection by the Padeniyas despite being doctors. Instead of being in the forefront combating this menace they were unconcernedly and unconscionably staging strikes from district to district disrupting and derailing the national medical services.
Now , it is not Lanka e news but the Divaina newspaper itself which is noted for serving the sordid biddings of the Padeniyas is reporting that the country is threatened most ominously by deadly infectious fevers of three categories.
According to yesterday’s (04) edition of the Divaina newspaper , because of the H1N1 influenza , all the faculties of Peradeniya University had to be closed day before yesterday (03) , and two faculties of Ruhunu University too were closed because two virus fevers were spreading.
It has also been revealed that owing to the H1N1 influenza spreading in the Central province , 17 patients including a pregnant mother died.
The Divaina newspaper also reported that 30 % of the 4000 ( approximately) Hostellers of the Peradeniya University have contracted the fever , and yesterday alone , over 500 students had visited the University medical center for treatment .
By a strange quirk of circumstances , it is these same University students who took to the streets villainously demanding the closure of SAITM medical College who have contracted the fever . Much more cruelly shocking , these students have planned to stage a strike on the 7 th despite their medical condition and medical treatment they are receiving .
The Lanka Teachers association of Josef Stalin generally hitherto thought of as possessing at least some grey matter ,as well as the pro JVP associations agreeing to support the strike of terror doctor Padeniyas aimed at killing humans as reported by the media , only go to prove to the masses how heartless and brainless these union leaders are.
Meanwhile higher education minister Lakshman Kiriella announced , the government will not go beyond the decision of the court , and SAITM will not be closed under any circumstances. Since the GMOA had now appealed to the supreme Court against the previous court decision , it would be best if the GMOA as a responsible body without misleading the students, wasting their lecture hours, and dragging them to the streets, advises the students to wait until the SC delivers its verdict , Kiriella rightly pointed out.
If the people are not prepared to take stern action against these doctor killers without showing any sympathy to these villainous rascals who are stoking and kindling strikes at the most inopportune moment oblivious of the dire situation in the country when three deadly infectious fevers are threatening the lives of the entire nation , then it is best the nation cowardly resigns itself to fate , and braces for the worst peril including imminent death.
The bottom line : How can these doctors who have taken the oath of Hippocrates , and whose medical education was funded by the people , which funds were collected via tax burdens imposed on the people hold the same people to ransom so selfishly , heartlessly and unconscionably , when the primary and paramount duty of these doctors is to serve the sick , and save lives ?
‘The more I learn of people the more I love my dog’ said Mark Twain . Let us hope the doctors will not wait to reform themselves until the day , the people of Sri Lanka make a justifiable modification to Mark Twain’s quote and say ‘the more we see our Doctors the more we love the stray dogs’ , and sterilize them like stray dogs as a punishment in order to ensure at least the future generation will not be plagued by their scions .
--------------------------- by (2017-04-05 10:13:02)
A statement signed among academics, professionals and civil society groups ( Muslim Personal Law Reforms Action Group) call on the Government to immediately take action on the issues emanating from the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act currently enforced in the Island.
The statement, titled “Statement; We demand accountability on MMDA reforms” also calls on the Muslim Personal Law reforms committee to release its report to the public which is due for submission in May.
“The recently released submissions of the ACJU on MMDA reform,completely ignores the present day lived realities of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.For example, it shocks our conscience that Islamic jurisprudence is misinterpreted to justify child marriage and prevent women being appointed as Quazi judges” the statement says referring to the expose by Colombo Telegraph on submissions made by the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulama ( ACJU).
The submissions were revealed by Colombo Telegraph after the ACJU had circulated the document and used it for lobbying among Muslim parliamentarians.
It came in to criticism from the Muslim intelligenstia of the country.
The statement says the stance of the ACJU as revealed in the document is not in conformity with a civilised system of governance.
“Their arguments go to the extent of suggesting that any person appointing a woman as a Quazi is“sinning”, such appointments are invalid and her judgments “carry no weight”. These stances are misogynistic, discriminatory and archaic, not merely in present day Sri Lanka but for any part of the world,” the statement says.
The Theologians yesterday however iterated that their stance had been ‘misinterpreted’.
Below is the full statement which comprise 300 signatories and 15 organisations.
STATEMENT: WE DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY ON MMDA REFORMS
We the undersigned find the recent statements of the Chairperson of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), that reform of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) is not needed, to be unacceptable. It is patently clear that the ACJU has contributed to the 8-year delay in the reform process despite the desperate need for substantive reform of this law.
Furthermore, the recently released submissions of the ACJU on MMDA reform, completely ignores the present day lived realities of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. For example, it shocks our conscience that Islamic jurisprudence is misinterpreted to justify child marriage and prevent women being appointed as Quazi judges. Their arguments go to the extent of suggesting that any person appointing a woman as a Quazi is “sinning”, such appointments are invalid and her judgments “carry no weight”. These stances are misogynistic, discriminatory and archaic, not merely in present day Sri Lanka but for any part of the world.
In light of this latest objection to any law reform by ACJU, we state the following:
To the members of the MPL Reforms Committee:
We are deeply disappointed that the 2009 MPL Reforms Committee chaired by Justice Saleem Marsoof continues to permit the deliberations on reform to be delayed and allows itself to be held hostage in this unreasonable manner by a few extremist members who do not represent all the Muslims in the country. The call for the release of the report on reforms has been made throughout 2016, but to no avail. Now it appears that people opposed to reforms like the ACJU who have access to the draft report are using it to mobilise opposition and to discredit the report in public.
Allowing only ACJU to have access to the report and run a public campaign against it not only imperils the Committee’s process, but is also disadvantageous to other stakeholders, including women’s groups, who do not yet have access to the findings of the report. In light of recent events, we strongly urge the Committee to finalize the reforms report, record dissenting views if any, and release the report to the public without any further delay.
To Muslim and non-Muslim political leaders:
We are appalled at the continued silence of Muslim political leaders to the statements issued and documents released by the ACJU. Their lackadaisical attitude towards and lack of leadership in addressing the Muslim personal law reforms is prolonging the injustices faced by Muslim women and girls. As a result of their silence we believe we are in danger of letting the thinking of unelected and unrepresentative organizations that take positions based on narrow and literal interpretations of the Islamic text and tradition to determine the future of the Sri Lankan Muslim community.
Their statements and submissions amount to sanctioning of discrimination and inequality through state-sanctioned institutions and processes.
We reiterate the urgent need for the political leaders to focus their attention on the reforms process, recognize the diversity of view points within the Muslim community and to respond without any further delay to do right by the women and girl children of the Muslim community. We urge all political leaders to speak out against abusive practices, against thethreats facedby Muslim women raising these issues and to respond positively to the urgent need for reform of the MMDA.
To the Sri Lankan State:
It is a fact that the MMDA and the Quazi court system, was established, administered and is funded by the State. The MMDA is enacted as a statute and judgments made through the Quazi court system are legally binding and enforceable only by the authority of the State. Therefore the Sri Lankan State has the foremost responsibility to ensure that State laws protect rights of citizens and are not in-turn causing gender based violence, discrimination and injustice.
We urge the Sri Lankan government and all relevant state authorities to question the delay in addressing these problems and to recognize that the marginalized voices of women and girls of the Muslim community also constitute avalid community position.
Beyond ensuring MMDA reforms, the State must without further delay and as per 2017 CEDAW Committee recommendations:
Juxtaposition: A woman walking to work passing a homeless woman near Colombo. Financial wealth can only increase happiness to a certain extent; for the majority of people, a few conditions need to be met to feel considerably happy: enough food, water, a safe place to live, and then a way of safe transport and some sort of experiences which are perceived as bringing joy – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara
Can money buy happiness?
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
When discussing sustainable development, the very concept of it requires including not only a rational dimension of costs and benefits for humanity related to sustainable or unsustainable behaviour, but also a much deeper philosophical dimension.
When we say sustainable development means to behave in a way that future generations can enjoy the same resources and benefits as us from this planet, then it assumes that a person can be empathetic towards future generations. If this skill is missing, that person can only engage in SD to an extent as in a real-time reduction of costs and increase of direct benefits. This is for sure one way of looking at it, however it misses out the fullness of what SD really includes.
What is the goal of life for the majority of people? Based on a number of research efforts and also common understanding, it is: Happiness. Now happiness is highly subjective and individual, however there are some aspects which are most common to be valid.
Having Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in mind, which includes physical and safety needs at the bottom, it is well understood that as long as someone does not have sufficient food to eat, water to drink and a place to live, the person will not be experiencing happiness. Exceptions, which are few, are those who choose to live under such circumstances.
Numerous efforts of researchers and experts have dedicated themselves to the question if money can buy happiness. Where they use different approaches to look at this correlation, they all highlight that money or material wealth can only make a person happy up to a certain extent, then happiness might stagnate or increase at a very small degree compared to the increase of wealth.
An article published by Princeton University argues: “While most people believe that having more income would make them happier, Princeton University researchers have found that the link is greatly exaggerated and mostly an illusion. People with above average income are relatively satisfied with their lives but are barely happier than others in moment-to-moment experience, tend to be more tense and do not spend more time in particularly enjoyable activities.”
The researchers have developed an “enjoyment scale” to measure people’s quality of daily life, the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM). Applying this method respondents were asked how much time of a day they spend in a bad mood. It showed that those earning less than $ 20,000 a year spend only 12% more of their time in a bad mood than those earning more than $ 100,000 a year.
Now one might say happiness is more than a “good mood”. Is it a state of mind, only a good mood or contentment and peace of mind? The things we run after are often giving us “only” a good feeling, often temporary. To reach real contentment and peace of mind, if one listens to those who we call wise in this world, has to come anyway from within and is far from materialistic enjoyments including worldly experiences.
So the “happiness” we thrive to reach with material and worldly means is necessarily connected with emotions and “good feelings”. The real happiness we anyway cannot achieve with such means. Therefore the mentioned research very much applies here.
Overall life satisfaction
In another study, the same researchers investigated respondents’ overall life satisfaction and their happiness from moment to moment. They found that income was more weakly correlated with individual’s happiness from moment to moment than it was with their overall life satisfaction. And this is a very interesting outcome.
People who are wealthy think they should be happy and satisfied and answer accordingly, where their results for moment to moment experiences do notreflect this happiness. This means that the judgement of their lives and how it should be perceived does not necessarily correlate with their real-time experiences. So they think they are happy, which in reality they are not. Similarly a poorer person might think he is unhappy, which in real-time experiences he is actually not.
And when do we live if not now – in moment to moment experiences? Where are we happy if not in our daily lives? Only in our mind we might think or believe that we are happy if we have this or that, but this is a trick of the mind, to keep us going and wanting more and in the end we are wasting our life.
Now this is what we somehow know and have seen in our personal environment and internationally via TV or other sources, the rich person who either works 24/7 and does not enjoy life at all or is continuously worried about possessions and the loss or increase of them; or the rich person who does not work at all however feels useless and lost and sees no purpose in life. And the examples of less wealthy people who are however happy and content.
The majority of people are to varying degrees somewhere in between; and obviously there are happy rich and unhappy poor people too. However related to the above research, even a happy rich person will not perceive the same amount of happiness acquiring a third house, compared to the happiness when buying one house after not having an own place.
Material wealth
Having in mind that financial wealth can only increase happiness to a certain extent, one can understand that on average, for the majority of people, a few conditions need to be met to feel considerably happy: enough food, water, a safe place to live, and then a way of safe transport and some sort of experiences which are perceived as bringing joy: entertainment, traveling and other material items which are not connected to needs such as jewellery or other items.
After Maslow, only once these requirements are met, a person can have good relationships and dedicate himself to other questions in life.
Interestingly the research concludes that despite the weak relationship between material wealth and happiness, the main intention of most humans is to increase this wealth, giving up part of the happiness which is connected to a less material life.
To dedicate personal time to this thrive for material wealth is everybody’s individual right. Unfortunately this focus on material wealth comes at a cost, and not only for the individual however for humanity as a whole. What do we all give up for the illusion of achieving happiness through increase of material wealth? Our time! Our health! Our planet! Our society!
This is the real cost, which we all have to face. With this strategy, in the end we might increase material wealth, still globally for a few and not for the majority of humans; but at the same time we destroy our very own habitat.
What do we feel is quality of life? Which is supposed to make us happy?
Is it to wear expensive clothes, drive a posh car and possess all kinds of items? When at the same time we cannot breathe fresh air, drink fresh healthy water, and eat nutritious food? How can we live in congested cities where the basic requirements which we need as humans, if we want or not, are not met at all; and still run after additional material wealth? How can we have the newest fashion items at home when at the same time we need to wear masks when walking in the city, buy water in bottles and have to pay extra for organic, not poisoned food?
And on top of it that does not even make us happy!
Increasing awareness
The solution lies really in increasing awareness about our behaviour and the consumption patterns we follow and in which we have enslaved ourselves. We have to develop responsible consumer behaviour and increase awareness about how much material wealth is really necessary to live a happy life and the connection between each individual consumer behaviour and our current global environmental situation.
Not many are conscious about this correlation, and rather point at big industries who destroy our natural habitats. However if we buy the products of these industries, we are perpetrators too. We vote with each purchase, which world we want to live in. Every person, no matter the profession or background, is a consumer in this world. That’s a lot of votes! Let’s use our buying power consciously to support those organisations who facilitate sustainable global development.
Scarcity of fresh water giving rise to conflict is no longer a theme in sci-fi narratives. Today, for most living in arid parts of the world, it is a daily reality. Nearly one billion people in the developing world do not have access to fresh, clean water. Yet, we in Sri Lanka, an island of abundant resources, take the availability of freshwater for granted. Unbeknown to us with drought threatening livelihoods in the dry zones of the country, unregulated utilisation of groundwater is also threatening the availability of this precious resource.
What is groundwater?
2017-04-05
Potable water resources are mainly identified as surface water or groundwater. Unlike surface water bodies such as rivers, lakes and tanks which are usually exposed to harmful human activity, groundwater is less affected as it is the water that is held underground. In other words, groundwater flows through porous media in a paced, slow dispersal and is stored under the topsoil or in pores and crevices found in rock. Because it is hidden beneath and protected from human activity, groundwater is one of the safest and reliable sources of drinking water. In Sri Lanka, almost 80% of the rural population depend on groundwater sources for their day-to-day needs which include drinking and sanitation needs. It is also a vital source of water supply to hundreds of farmers and cultivators who depend on groundwater sources in the form of agro-wells scattered across the island. Considering the significance of this gift of nature, it is alarming that little attention has been paid to risks of exhaustion and contamination of groundwater sources. The need to protect these valuable sources of water arose when reports emerged early this year that Coca Cola was eyeing Sri Lanka for a bottling plant after having exhausted groundwater resources in India.
80% of the rural population depend on groundwater sources for their day-to-day needs
Health implications associated with contaminated sources should be considered seriously
Little attention paid to risks of exhaustion and contamination of groundwater sources
Over-use threatens water table and surface water bodies
Poor management of resources threatening water bodies
Use of groundwater
Groundwater resources are widely used for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes, small-scale irrigation and water supply schemes. The Water Resources Board (WRB) states that about 80% of the rural domestic water supply needs are met from groundwater by means of dug and tube wells. Most of the local industries depend heavily on deep wells where groundwater is safe and of good quality. It is manifest that the demand for groundwater supply is increasing, particularly in urban areas in addition to rural water supplies and irrigation of agriculture. As highlighted during the past few months, the rapid expansion of commercial projects is exerting pressure on the available groundwater resources. Groundwater is a main water source for irrigation by small farmers, especially during drought periods when tank storage is inadequate. Small farmers, particularly in the areas of North Western and North Central provinces, use large – diameter agro-wells. In coastal sand aquifer areas like the Kalpitiya Peninsula in the Northwest and Nilaveli in the East coast, there has been intensive use of the shallow groundwater for agriculture during the last three decades.
Over-use and depletion
The U.S. Geological Survey compares the water stored in the ground to money kept in a bank account. If the money is withdrawn at a faster rate than new money is deposited, there will eventually be account-supply problems. Pumping water out of the ground at a faster rate than it is replenished over the long-term causes similar problems. Groundwater pumping, a saviour of dry zone cultivators in Sri Lanka, is the primary cause of groundwater depletion. This in turn can lower the water table where the well is no longer able to reach groundwater. As the water table lowers, pumps must reach farther in the ground, consuming more power and thereby invoking more costs. Little known is the fact that surface water will not exist without groundwater. Depletion of groundwater tables threatens the water supply to surface water resources such as rivers and lakes. Ultimately, over pumping also threatens to collapse layers of soil causing what is known as land subsidence.
Threats of contamination
According to the Head of the Bio-systems Engineering Department, Wayamba University Dr. D.S.P. Kuruppuarachchi, some aquifers in Sri Lanka are already contaminated with poisonous chemicals in intensely cultivated areas. An aquifer is an underground layer of permeable rock, sediment or soil that yields water. The pore spaces in aquifers are filled with water and are interconnected, so that water flows through them. This means that sandstone, unconsolidated gravel and porous limestone make the best aquifers. Nitrate is a common Nitrogenous compound found in the natural processes of the Nitrogen cycle. In Sri Lanka, researchers have uncovered that concentrations of the compound have greatly increased, particularly in groundwater; the key reason of contamination being the application of Nitrogen-rich fertilizers in agricultural processes. “Studies in coastal sand aquifers revealed that the build-up of Nitrate was quite dramatic and estimated at 1–2 mg-N l-1per annum, which is certainly unacceptable both in terms of water quality deterioration and waste of valuable crop nutrients,” Dr. Kuruppuarachchi cites in his research. “As groundwater is the main or probably the only source of potable water in aquifers where intensive agriculture is practised, health implications associated with high intake of Nitrate should be considered seriously and appropriate management plans should be implemented in order to enhance the sustainable and efficient use of the groundwater resource,” he warns. As Dr. Kuruppuarachchi notes, agriculture in many developing countries including Sri Lanka is increasingly dependent on chemicals, mainly due to cost and yield concerns in organic cultivating. As the land available for crop production and water for irrigation is meanwhile becoming increasingly limited, increased food production to meet the demands must use intensive agriculture methods. According to Dr. Kuruppuarachchi, in many areas, intensive crop production occurs on soils directly overlying shallow aquifers used for potable water supply as well as irrigation. The threat to groundwater quality and the risk to potable supplies are growing, mainly due to the intensification of irrigated agriculture and accompanying increase of the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
Unregulated agro-wells
Even without a drought threatening the island, the supply of water has constantly been a problem for the intermediate and dry zones of Sri Lanka. Research suggests that 90% of these zones are on hard-rock aquifers, where agro-wells have been installed in place of hard-rock aquifers. However, the lack of guidance and a general unawareness have resulted in a spring of unauthorised agro-wells. At present, a farmer can (at free will) exploit his private land and use a resource of water that is in fact a resource belonging to all. When reviewing the use of groundwater sources, it is apparent that development of agro-wells has taken place in a rather haphazard and chaotic manner sans the expertise of the relevant authorities. So far, government authorities have only been able to offer technical services and offer financial aid for the installation of agro-wells. When questioned of this flaw in resource management, Water Resources Board (WRB) Chairman A.C.M. Zulficar said prompt measures were underway to address the issue. “A special Gazette was issued in March to help address the unregulated digging of agro-wells. So far, the water management system in Sri Lanka has been governed by an act of 1954, where no improvements had been made to address the shortcomings. However, the new Gazette addresses three main issues in groundwater, namely water contamination, over extraction and misuse of natural springs,” Zulficar explained. When questioned as to why such action was delayed, the WRB Chairman responded saying no authority had taken interest in the matter all these years. “I was appointed Chairman during the latter part of 2015 and began to implement these procedures. We are now formulating a programme to raise awareness on the proper use of groundwater resources. For this purpose, we are building a network including the Divisional Secretariats, District Secretariats and our zonal officers. This joint programme will be launched in the coming weeks to educate the public on the proper use and management of groundwater resources,” he said.
New regulations
According to the Gazette issued on March 15 under the Water Resources Board Act No. 29 of 1964, any individual, government or private institute seeking to utilise natural water springs or groundwater for any purpose or project, should obtain written permission from the WRB and it should be carried out under its supervision. The construction of agro-wells with diameters more than four metres, dug and tube wells for commercial purposes utilising natural springs, and those engaged in the construction of tube and dug wells must be registered with the WRB prior to drilling. The safe yield of the well should be assessed under the supervision of the WRB. A flow metre should be fixed by the industry owner to monitor the amount of water pumped from the well daily and the data on daily pumped water capacities should be maintained. Data in respect to all tube wells constructed by the above registered parties must be submitted to the WRB every three months. If any individual or organisation is engaged in water bottling industry, beverage industry and uses water from springs or groundwater for their manufacturing purposes, a water sample should be analysed once in every six months from a chemical laboratory. A perimeter protection report should be taken from the WRB of those who extract groundwater amounting to more than 30,000 litres per month for commercial agriculture or industry. The WRB states that it will use these records to maintain their database and employ the information in groundwater management and planning in future. The Daily Mirror ’s attempts to contact officials of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board to query their strategies in accordance with the new regulations to tackle the management issues of groundwater resources resulted in failure.
The number of people Israel allowed through the Erez crossing with Gaza on average each month in 2016 was about two percent of what it was in September 2000. Anne PaqActiveStills
Israel systematically denies human rights workers entry to the occupied Gaza Strip, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.
The group says the travel ban, which has been enforced for almost a decade, has significantly impeded the work of international, Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups, which document violations by the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups.
The Israeli government told Human Rights Watch that the travel restriction is imposed for security reasons. It regularly informs applicants for travel permits that the Israeli government is only obliged to allow passage in “exceptional humanitarian circumstances.”
Since Israel withdrew its military and settlements from Gaza in 2005, it has maintained that it no longer occupies the territory and is therefore not subject to the law of occupation which requires it to allow travel.
But this position has been rejected by the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United States and the European Union, which all maintain that Gaza remains occupied because Israel still exercises “effective control” over the territory despite the redeployment of its forces to the perimeter.
On Twitter, Emmanuel Nahshon, the spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, responded to Human Rights Watch’s report by tweeting, “Given the number of terrorists employed by intl orgs, that’s right policy!!”
In February, on advice of the foreign ministry, Israel’s interior ministry refused to grant Human Rights Watch’s new Palestine director Omar Shakir a work permit, saying the organization produces “Palestinian propaganda.”
Israel’s military bureaucracy that runs the occupation, known by the acronym COGAT, denied any blanket ban on human rights workers, claiming it does coordinate the passage of rights groups, listing Doctors without Borders as an example.
But Human Rights Watch says the travel restrictions cast further doubt on the credibility of Israel’s internal investigations of alleged crimes, a mechanism which Israel hopes will stave off international legal accountability.
The International Criminal Court must determine whether Israel carries out credible investigations that satisfy the court’s standards before opening a formal investigation into possible war crimes.
While claiming that it carries out thorough investigations, Israel says its relies on information provided to it by the very human rights groups it heavily restricts.
The reports states: “These restrictions hamper what is, by the Israeli government’s own acknowledgement, a significant source of information and evidence about potential [international humanitarian law] violations, raising questions not just about the capability of the Israeli authorities to investigate potential violations of the laws of war but also their willingness to do so.”
Human Rights Watch, which has been granted access to Gaza only one time since 2008, recommends that the International Criminal Court immediately open a formal investigation into the situation in Palestine.
The court opened its preliminary examination in January 2015, which could take years to complete.
Humanitarian aid, not human rights
The refusal to let human rights workers in and out of Gaza is part of Israel’s comprehensive blockade on all movement in and out of the small territory that is home to two million Palestinians.
These restrictions have been reinforced by Egypt, which has kept the] Rafah crossing mostly closed since July 2013, when Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi was deposed in a military coup.
In 2012, Israel said its so-called “separation policy” is meant to prevent the transfer of a “human terrorist network” from Gaza to the West Bank, where Israeli settlers live.
However, there are notable exceptions.
Israel allows hundreds or merchants, some medical patients and employees with humanitarian aid organizations to leave Gaza.
It also gives travel privileges to employees of humanitarian aid or UN organizations, but never to those who work for human rights groups.
Israel has defended this policy in court by explaining that humanitarian groups help Israel fulfil its commitment “not to harm the humanitarian minimum that residents of the Strip need – including giving travel permits in appropriate humanitarian circumstances.”
Impeding work
Palestinian human rights groups say the travel ban isolates them and weakens their work.
Jaber Wishah, deputy director of the Palestinian Center for Human Right’s, says the limitations can be costly, both financially and in terms of getting their work international exposure.
Staff at PCHR and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights are consistently denied permission to leave Gaza to attend trainings, workshops and conferences with colleagues in present-day Israel and the occupied West Bank.
Amnesty International has not been granted access to Gaza since June 2012. Human Rights Watch was granted access for the first time since 2008 in September 2016 on a one-time, exceptional basis to advocate for Israelis detained by Palestinian groups in Gaza.
Though these international groups hire local Gaza researchers to collect evidence, they were unable to hire an independent weapons expert to fully assess evidence following Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza.
Israel began limiting the movement of Palestinians in Gaza in the mid-1990s, but implemented dramatic restrictions in 2007, when Hamas took control inside Gaza after the group won the 2006 Palestinian elections.
In 2016, the average number of crossings from Gaza to Israel or the occupied West Bank was about 12,000 a month. That compares with half a million crossings in September 2000, the eve of the second intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israel’s military occupation – a drop of about 98 percent.
drinking water. 
will eventually be account-supply problems. Pumping water out of the ground at a faster rate than it is replenished over the long-term causes similar problems. Groundwater pumping, a saviour of dry zone cultivators in Sri Lanka, is the primary cause of groundwater depletion. This in turn can lower the water table where the well is no longer able to reach groundwater. As the water table lowers, pumps must reach farther in the ground, consuming more power and thereby invoking more costs. Little known is the fact that surface water will not exist without groundwater. Depletion of groundwater tables threatens the water supply to surface water resources such as rivers and lakes. Ultimately, over pumping also threatens to collapse layers of soil causing what is known as land subsidence. 
that is in fact a resource belonging to all. When reviewing the use of groundwater sources, it is apparent that development of agro-wells has taken place in a rather haphazard and chaotic manner sans the expertise of the relevant authorities. So far, government authorities have only been able to offer technical services and offer financial aid for the installation of agro-wells. 
