Schools affected by floods, tremors to be repaired

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The Education Ministry has directed Provincial Education officials to submit detailed reports on flood affected damaged school buildings and other school buildings that were damaged due to earthslips and earth tremors.

It has been reported that a large number of school buildings in Ampara, Batticaloa and a few other districts in the Eastern Province have been slightly or badly damaged following last month's flood situation.

Meanwhile, it was reported that some classrooms of two schools in Kandy, Swarnamali Balika Vidyalaya and Siddhi Lebbe Vidyalaya were slightly damaged following an earth tremor that occurred during the school session around 12.30 pm on Tuesday, January 25. According to Swarnamali Balika Vidyalaya Principal, Mrs. H.L. Nikehetiya, no student was injured due to this earth tremor due to timely action taken by the teachers to evacuate children from the affected area.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena told the Junior Observer that a team of officials was deployed to investigate the damaged schools and immediate measures taken to restore them, to enable students to carry out their day-to-day educational activities without any obstacle.

He said in addition to the damaged buildings, all damaged educational equipment including furniture will also be provided.

Volcanoes erupt in Japan and the Philippines

Lightning and fire at Japan's Shinmoedake:

The Shinmoedake volcano, one of 20 inside Mount Kirishima, Japan began erupting around 7.30 a.m on January 26 morning and by 3 p.m heavy smoke had risen to nearly 5,000ft, prompting the meteorological agency to raise the alert level. A one-mile cordon was established around a volcano on Mount Kirishima after it erupted scattering rocks and ash across southern Japan and sending smoke billowing 5,000ft into the air.Volcanic activity is often reported at Kirishima, but this is the largest eruption recorded there since 1959.

A number of domestic airlines flights were cancelled because of the haze and the buildup of ash on train tracks forced Japan Rail to close several lines. Roads were also shut because of poor visibility.

The Meteorological Agency raised the volcanic alert to level 3 the following day as ash continued to spew from Shinmoedake on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, and residents have been banned from going within a mile of the volcano following its worst eruption in 50 years.

Agency volcanologist Sei Iijima said the eruption did not pose a threat to nearby cities, and a major eruption was not imminent.But he added: 'You can never say never with a volcano, although the lack of magma movement beneath the surface leads us to believe that this activity won't lead to a large-scale eruption,' he told ABC News..A small evacuation centre was set up overnight in the town of Takaharu, seven miles east of Kirishima.

Meanwhile another volcano in the Philippines also erupted on January 28. Tens of thousands of villagers in the Philippines fled their homes as the Mayon volcano one of the nation's most active volcanoes spewed lava and sent ash plumes high into the sky.Soldiers and police marshalled the evacuation of about 50,000 people from the so-called "danger zone" of five miles around the foothills of the Mayon volcano, amid concerns that a big eruption could occur at any moment.

"After the series of ash puffs and ash explosions of 1,000 metres, we cannot rule out a major explosion," said Cedric Daep, the head of the disaster relief operations in the eastern Bicol region.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level for Mayon to three on after lava was seen dripping from the crater, and evacuations began immediately.

Level three means that a full eruption is likely in the very near future. The scale runs from one to five, with five meaning an eruption is occurring.However, the volcanology institute also said Mayon could yet calm down without an eruption.

Mayon, which sits above a farming area about 200 miles south-east of Manila, has erupted 48 times since records began, claiming thousands of lives.

[NEWS IN BRIEF]

by Rohana JAYALAL
 

E-NICs from next year

The E-NICs (electronic national identity cards) are likely to replace the present NICs next year, according to the Department for Registration of Persons (DRP).

The concept proposed by the Government due to security concerns , which is still being discussed, will soon be finalised.The Commissioner General of the DRP Jagath P. Wijeweera said that the change from manual NICs to digital ones will minimise forgeries in the future.

National Immunization Programme reactivated

The National Immunization Programme (NIP) was reactivated on January 24 by the Government with the aim of meeting the NIP goals for this year.

The Minister of Health addressing a special programme launched at the Government Epidemiology Unit (GEU) said that the Government's aim is to improve the health standards of the country. "However, the Government cannot carry out the NIP successfully without the support of the stakeholders", he said.

NCPA issues vehicle permits

The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) issued temporary permits for vans, buses and other vehicles to transport schoolchildren at the National Child Protection Authority on January 28.

As a first step it would issue temporary permits to 125 vans that transport schoolchildren in the Western Province. According to the Chairperson of the Authority, Attorney-at-Law Anoma Dissanayake, measures would be taken to provide similar permits to 4,000 buses, vans and other vehicles that transport schoolchildren.

Fee for medical services

The Health Ministry has taken measures to charge Rs. 2,000 if those who seek medical treatment after meeting with accidents are found to be under the influence of alcohol.

This new measure came into effect from February 1. Incidentally, a circular has also been prepared for the new initiative. According to the Health Ministry, the Minister has advised the Health Services Director General to obtain the advice of the Attorney General, prior to issuing the circular.Thereby, all those found to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of an accident, and are admitted to the hospital, will have to pay Rs. 2,000 at the time of being discharged. The Ministry states that those who fail to pay this fee would not be discharged from the hospital. The Ministry was considering extending this rule to those who attempt suicide too.

Buses from India

Sri Lanka's Transport Ministry has decided to import buses from India to add to the country's existing fleet of buses.The Ministry is to import 100 new buses from India for the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) to be used for long distance routes.

The Ministry was lplanning to import buses at Rs. 4 million each and an order has already been placed for them. The cost of the buses is to be met with the money earned by the SLTB through its revenue.