Unveiling Buddha statue The Maha Parinibbhana Buddha Statue at Kotikawatta, Nagarukkarama Temple will be unveiled on Tuesday at 9.00 am at the temple premises.The Chief Incumbent of the Nagarukkarama Temple Ven. Badulle Mahanama Thera said this Parinibbana statue is significant to all Buddhists as this is the only Rose stone (Rose Thiruwana) Parinibbhana monument in the world and is of great similarity to the Parinibbana statue made by Haribala 1500 years ago at Kusinara. The statue at Kotikawatta is 12 feet long. The couch of the statue is also similar to the couch at Kusinara’s Parinibbhana statue.

MP Namal Rajapaksa was received by the students of Veruvil Hindu Maha Vidyalaya, Kilinochchi during his recent Northern tour. MPs Dilum Amunugama and Uditha Lokubandara were also present.

Devotees throng Randoli perahera despite rains

by Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy South group cor.

A large number of devotees witnessed the first Randoli perahera of the Sri Dalada Maligawa which paraded the streets in all its grandeur despite the heavy rains on Friday.

The heavy rains were accompanied by strong winds.

City garbage to the bins

by Ranil WIJAYAPALA

Police has helped tremendously to streamline the cleaning of garbage in the Colombo city, Colombo Municipal Council Special Commissioner Omar Kamil said yesterday.

He said with the enforcement of the law by the community Police on a directive by Defence Secretary, there is a vast reduction in the habit of dumping garbage on the streets by the people.Kamil said people have to be more disciplined in the habit of dumping their garbage rather than enforcing the law on them.

"We are facing problems when keeping bins in the city streets and roads, as people used to lift those bins and also keep on dumping garbage throughout the day", Kamil added when he was asked why bins are not available for the people throw garbage in city streets.He also complained that although bins are kept in places like Independence Square, people visiting these places are not using them but throwing the waste in the streets.

He said the dumping of the garbage collected from the city has also been streamlined without making health hazard to the people with the expansion of the new garbage dumping site in Kolonnawa.

Heavy demand for Havelock City apartments

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Over 75 percent of the apartments at the Havelock City rated as one of the largest and most expensive multi-purpose real-estate development projects have been sold. According to an official of the Overseas Realty Ceylon PLC, most of the apartments have been purchased by Sri Lankans stamping the buying power of the citizens.

The first stage of the construction with majority ownership by Shin Kwan Enterprises of Singapore is now completed. The first phase consisting of two towers including the Pack and Eli Bank Towers with 226 apartments is now nearing completion. Overseas Realty which also owns the World Trade Centre offers apartments with two, three and four bedrooms and is being marketed from around Rs. 15 million upwards.

The complex which is Sri Lanka's largest private sector investment also consists of offices, business premises, shops, restaurants, underground car park and a large garden of eight acres making it a city within a city.