Mihin Lanka says state workers and pensioners can obtain air tickets for Bodh Gaya under this new scheme, paying the cost in six installments.
The company only needs a letter from an institute head for the state workers or from the Divisional Secretary for the pensioners and the first installment to proceed.
The roundtrip air ticket will cost Rs. 31,500, in installments of Rs. 5250.
Following the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has divided into two groups, sources confirmed.
According to reliable sources, a group of TNA parliamentarians will act as an independent group in Parliament in the future.
Reportedly, the new group will hold discussions with the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) to form a new alliance in Parliament.
However, the members of the new group have not been revealed to the media yet.
The TNA, one of the main political groups representing the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, has been accused by various other groups of being a mouthpiece of the LTTE.
At least five Sri Lankans were among 29 bus passengers who died in a road accident in Saudi Arabia late on Friday night. The victims were burnt to death when the bus they were travelling in crashed into an oncoming truck and burst into flames, close to the Saudi capital of Riyadh.Sri Lanka envoy to Saudi Arabia, Marleen Mohamed, told the Sunday Times that proper identification was not possible because the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, although it was established that all the victims were male.
“It appears the victims were trapped inside the burning bus for several minutes. The powerful blaze prevented rescuers from getting close to the ill-fated bus,” Mr. Marleen said.
“The doors, including the emergency doors, of state-owned passenger buses in the kingdom are usually operated by the driver, when there is no conductor. The tragedy could have been prevented if there had been a second person to manipulate the doors.”
Initial investigations revealed that the driver of the heavy truck coming from the opposite direction was at fault. It was also revealed that of the five Sri Lankans, one had gained employment in the city of Dammam, while the other four were job hunters who had entered the kingdom in recent days, Mr. Marleen said.
Colombo has been asked to trace the job agency that recruited the victims and inform their next of kin, so the bodies can be sent directly to their homes, the envoy said.
“Embassy officials are going through whatever papers were found on the victims in an effort to identify them. Apart from that, there is very little else that can be done”, Mr. Marleen said.
The Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry has made arrangements to bring home the bodies of five Sri Lankans who were killed in a roadside accident in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday evening.
The Ministry said it has already instructed the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Saudi Arabia on sending home the bodies.
Nearly 80 people, mostly youths, in the Kotmale area of the Sri Lankan upcountry have been admitted to hospital due to food poisoning.
Police spokesperson SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said all had fallen ill after partaking in an almsgiving at the Wedamulla temple in Kotmale. However, their condition is not life-threatening, hospital sources said.
Samples of the food consumed by the students have been sent to the Government Analyst.
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