Friday 23rd October, 2026
The Sri Lanka police continue to draw criticism for ‘the vicarious exercise of the mandate of the government in power’ or acting as though they could exercise authority derived from the ruling party’s electoral victory. They often overstep their limits at the behest of the government of the day, and instances abound where they even fall foul of the law.
Gampaha Magistrate Bandula Gunarathna has sought to have contempt of court proceedings instituted against Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya for his failure to comply with a court order. The Magistrate has directed the court registrar to forward relevant case files to the President of the Court of Appeal.
On Wednesday, Magistrate Gunarathna expressed serious concern over the non-implementation of his order that the IGP issue a circular to all police officers, preventing unwarranted, baseless prosecutions. Lawyers appearing for the police, on Wednesday, submitted a set of guidelines issued by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Western Province North, on 19 October, 2026. The guidelines apply only to the Gampaha, Kelaniya and Negombo police divisions. The Magistrate reprimanded the police for submitting instructions limited to a few police divisions whereas the court had specifically ordered that the circular cover the entire country. He observed that the police had tried to mislead the court. Expressing concern about the consequences of unwarranted arrests and baseless prosecutions, the Magistrate questioned the sustainability of a system that encouraged the accumulation of cases instead of addressing the underlying causes of crime. He warned that such practices would adversely impact public confidence in the police and the judiciary.
Magistrate Gunarathna deserves praise for censuring the police and taking steps to safeguard the rights of the public. His bold action is sure to go a long way towards strengthening public confidence in the judiciary.
It defies comprehension why IGP Weerasooriya, himself a lawyer, failed to comply with a magisterial order that has struck a responsive chord with the public. The protection of civil liberties consists in ensuring that the police act responsibly and respect the rights of the people.
News of the contempt of court charge against the IGP comes amid a Satyagraha demanding a presidential pardon for Ven. Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, who is serving a six-year prison sentence for contempt of court. Three prominent Opposition figures are also facing contempt of court proceedings.
The incumbent IGP continues to draw heavy criticism for the partial manner in which the police are acting on his watch. Some Opposition politicians publicly accuse him of acting as if he took orders from the JVP headquarters. They have made this allegation both in and outside Parliament. There are arguments for and against the Opposition’s claim, but symbiosis has characterised relations between successive governments and IGPs in this country, with both accused of safeguarding each other’s interests.
The contempt of court proceedings that Magistrate Gunarathna has sought against IGP Weerasooriya assume even greater significance against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the 22nd Amendment (22A) to the Constitution. Opponents of 22A argued that raising the mandatory retirement ages of superior court judges would undermine judicial independence by extending the tenures of serving judges and creating the possibility of a quid pro quo. The government, however, maintained that the changes were intended to strengthen the judicial system and address delays, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Meanwhile, judges who deliver bold rulings that adversely affect the interests of government politicians risk facing hostile action. In September 2025, SJB MP Dayasiri Jayaskera told Parliament that a judge who had ordered the arrest of three NPP politicians had been transferred. The government denied the allegation, but such denials are not taken seriously in this country. It is fervently hoped that the judges who discharge their duties and functions without fear or favour and uphold judicial independence will not become victims of political retaliation.
Those at the helm of state institutions ought to set an example to others by respecting the law. Their failure to do so leads to institutional decay. As the old adage goes, a fish rots from the head down.
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Thursday 22nd Octobber, 2026
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in West Bengal State has set an uplifting example. It has taken technology to the streets by developing a solar-powered food vending cart complete with digital payment facilities, allowing street vendors to move from one location to another easily without having to occupy public spaces permanently, according to a news item published in this newspaper today. Mounted on a three-wheeler, the vending machine was unveiled recently at the institute.
India reportedly has around 10 million street vendors, although the number officially identified by the Indian government is considerably lower. The IIT’s smart cart initiative, if implemented nationwide, will benefit millions of vendors, and give a big fillip to street vending, which is an important component of India’s informal economy. India has placed much emphasis on developing this particular sector for economic and political reasons, as evident from India’s PM SVANNidhi microcredit scheme, which has reportedly benefited about 6.8 million street vendors.
The smart cart initiative represents a new paradigm in grassroots development. Universities and other higher education institutions are more than seats of advanced learning. They have a vital role to play as enablers of innovation and development by bridging the gap between scientific research and practical applications, which help countries achieve progress. As we pointed out in a previous editorial comment, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has revealed that universities played a central role in the development of the Global North by producing the educated workforce, scientists, engineers, doctors, teachers, administrators and other professionals needed to build modern economies and strong public institutions. They also became major centres of basic and applied research, generating knowledge that helped drive industrialisation, technological innovation and productivity. The OECD notes that universities in most developed economies remain major providers of research and important contributors to the development of new technologies.
In a world marked by stark inequalities, where nearly half the population exists on less than US$ 8.30 a day, and one in ten people lives in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank, there is an urgent need for development initiatives that benefit those at the bottom of the income pyramid. This is something countries, such as Sri Lanka, ought to take cognisance of.
E. F. Schumacher’s philosophy, ‘small is beautiful’, reminds us that national development must not be measured solely by the size of investments or mega projects. It must also be judged by how effectively development reaches communities at the grassroots level, creates local employment and improves people’s lives. Sadly, even in the Global South, development has come to mean mega projects.
Governments in the developing world do not seem to have realised ‘the power of simple solutions’ or ‘ingenious simplicity’. In Sri Lanka, making low-cost solar-powered burners widely available may help address issues caused by cooking gas prices and shortages. But successive governments have ignored calls for such viable, cost-effective alternatives. Worryingly, the incumbent government stands accused of discouraging rooftop solar power generation, which has benefited many ordinary citizens and can help reduce the country’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Encouraging the use of electric vehicles and solar power generation through incentives, at the community level, will help curtail the country’s ever-increasing fuel bill and curb air pollution.
Simple technological solutions may also help solve other seemingly intractable problems. Sri Lanka, which spends colossal amounts of state funds on collecting wet kitchen waste and transporting it to overflowing dumps, should explore the development of a low-cost machine that mechanically grinds and squeezes household food scraps. Such a device could help each and every household, particularly in urban and semi-urban areas, reduce the weight, leakage and volume of waste requiring collection, while preparing the solid residue for composting.
Adopting innovative approaches can go a long way towards solving many complex problems. It requires a concerted national effort to bring higher education institutions, scientific and technological communities and other stakeholders together to meet this challenge. The smart cart project by IIT Kharagpur offers a promising example; the food vending machine project is to be integrated with the institute’s SETU Cloud Kitchen Connect platform, which aims to provide vendors with digital identification, QR-based access, cashless payment facilities, training and improved business records. This example is worthy of emulation.
Wednesday 21st October, 2026
Power cuts have returned, much to the resentment of the public. They however did not come as a surprise. Given the generation shortfall at Lakvijaya (Norochcholai) power plant due to the use of low-quality coal, power cuts were expected much earlier, but the government stepped up diesel power generation to avert them.
Having groped in the dark and resorted to obfuscation, following Saturday’s nationwide power outage, which lasted for nearly six hours, the government now says the power supply will return to normal soon. But the question is whether the Norochcholai power complex will be able to resume operations any time soon. Coal-fired power plants can take several days to return to service after a shutdown, as Sri Lanka’s experience has shown. The time required depends on the nature of the fault and the repairs needed. One can only hope that Norochcholai has not suffered a major component damage that could keep it off the grid for weeks.
The cost of operating oil-fired power plants to make up for Norochcholai’s generation loss is prohibitive. The Opposition claims that the country’s increased reliance on diesel-fired power generation is costing more than Rs. 1.3 billion a day. Worse, there is a significant global diesel supply shortfall, and the International Energy Agency has warned that the market could remain tight well into 2027. Its October 14 Oil Market Report provides the clearest evidence. The government says diesel is heavily subsidised. Therefore, the country cannot afford to rely on diesel-fired power plants for an extended period to compensate for the loss of generation at Norochcholai.
It is only natural that questions are being raised about whether low-grade coal contributed to the Norochcholai power plant failure, despite the government and the National System Operator insisting that coal quality had nothing to do with the incident. Plant shutdowns caused by substandard coal are not uncommon.
Experts have pointed out that Sri Lanka is not alone in facing the technical consequences of burning low-quality coal for power generation. They have cited evidence-based instances in support of their argument; there have been coal-fired power plant failures in China, and excessive sulphur content and combustion conditions have been linked to serious corrosion of boiler tubes. Studies of India’s coal-fired power industry have shed light on the operational problems associated with ash-rich, abrasive fuel. These international experiences underline the importance of enforcing coal-quality specifications and conducting independent tests. Hence the need for a transparent technical investigation to ascertain what actually caused the Norochcholai plant shutdown.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) yesterday summoned Prof. G. L. Peiris and recorded a statement from him over an investment promotion meeting chaired by him when he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Mahinda Rajapaksa government. As Prof. Peiris told the media after making a statement to the CIABOC, probes into allegations of corruption are welcome, provided they are not used to silence Opposition politicians.
Strangely, the CIABOC and the police lack this kind of high-octane performance regarding the complaints against those who are responsible for the procurement of substandard coal, which is believed to have caused the Lakvijaya power plant shutdown and a huge loss to the state coffers.
The Opposition claims that the coal racket is bigger than the 2015 Treasury bond scam. How, then, can the government claim that the rule of law has been restored and nobody is above the law under its watch?
Tuesday 20th October, 2026
A massive wave of youth-led and anti-austerity protests is sweeping across several European countries. It is driven by a host of issues including soaring cost of living, housing unaffordability, discontent with public services, and resentment at governments’ economic policies that are not beneficial to ordinary people. Protests in France, Italy, Belgium, Albania, Portugal and Spain are not part of a single, centrally organised movement, although the international media often lump them together. All of them however reveal a growing frustration over young people’s prospects and the increasing cost of living in Europe.
No country is immune from what social scientists describe as the cross-border diffusion of discontent and protests. Agitations could have a domino effect across national borders. We have witnessed waves of youth-led protests, in this part of the world, affecting Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and India. Protesters brought down governments in Bangladesh and Nepal and ousted a Sri Lankan President, causing a subsequent regime change. One may recall that four African countries saw their governments or long-serving rulers fall during the Arab Spring uprisings of 2010–2012.
Main causes of unrest in Europe can be divided into three broad categories. People are facing an unbearable cost-of-living squeeze, with rising prices, expensive energy and housing costs exerting enormous pressure on household budgets. The youth have a diminishing confidence in the future; they are concerned about employment, education, housing and, above all, whether they can achieve financial independence. Then, there is growing public anger over government priorities which are widely considered misplaced.
In Belgium and France, austerity and public spending priorities have driven unions and students to the streets. In Albania, corruption allegations and demands for political accountability are key factors fuelling protests. In Portugal and Spain housing is a central grievance of protesters. The causative factors however are far more complicated.
What is unfolding in Europe portends trouble for the developing world, where people are facing much worse socio-economic problems than their European counterparts. Sri Lanka ranks 120th out of 130 countries in monthly minimum wages in US dollars, according to data compiled by Visual Capitalist from International Labour Organization (ILO) statistics. Its monthly minimum wage (USD 200) has placed it among the lowest globally and at the bottom among surveyed South Asian nations, behind Pakistan (68th at USD 570), Nepal (78th at USD 490), Bangladesh (89th at USD 379), and India (111th at USD 233). Sri Lanka has the highest rate of unemployment among young people with post-secondary education in the Asian economies covered by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) comparison, with about 43% of those aged 15–24 in this category unemployed. The cost of living is increasing, with taxes and tariffs remaining extremely high. Sri Lanka has the highest household electricity tariffs in South Asia.
When economic grievances deepen in a country, with public confidence in the political establishment eroding, people’s resentment tends to find expression in street protests. In 1953, an attempt by the then UNP government to reduce subsidies, which amounted to about 20% of its total expenditure, and the resultant increase in the price of rice led to a hartal that almost brought about a regime change. An austerity drive, among other things, led to the downfall of the United Front government in 1977. Shortages of essentials fuelled the 2022 Aragalaya.
The biggest challenge facing the JVP-NPP government is to find a way to ease the unbearable economic burden on the irate public while raising enough revenue to meet the targets set by the IMF. This is a high-wire act. Rhetoric, political theatre and more promises will be of little avail. People are crying out for relief. Pro-government demonstrations may give the rulers a false sense of security but they cannot help stem the tide of public anger.