There is a risk of an outbreak of fever and a skin condition among inmates at the Galle prison, reports say.

Two inmates at the Galle prison have died and several others have been admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital due to an unidentified illness, the Prison Department had said.

Although the reason is yet to be formally announced, unconfirmed reports say that medical experts suspect the Meningococcal disease to be the reason. Meningococcal disease is said to be severe or deadly, especially to children and to those in poor health such as drug addicts.

It is said that medical staff at the hospital have been urged to take safety measures, such as wearing facemasks, when treating patients with such symptoms.

Minister of Estate Infrastructure Development – Jeevan Thondaman has issued a clarification on a viral video that shows him threatening an official at an estate in Matale District.

The incident had occurred when the minister had visited the Ratwatte Estate in the Elkaduwa Plantation in the Matale District to inquire about the mistreatment of an impoverished family by the estate assistant manager, by forcibly tearing down their house.

“As Minister, I demanded action from the Chairman and General Manager of the Estate against this behaviour. Immediate steps were taken, and the Assistant Manager has been removed and dismissed.

“The Chairman, General Manager, and the responsible Assistant Manager also personally apologised to the affected family. Moreover, the Estate has committed to constructing a permanent home for them within its premises. But this is just the beginning,” he had said.

The matter was also Tweeted by MP Mano Ganesan, who had taken up the matter with Minister of Plantations Ramesh Pathirana, calling for the assistant manager to be sacked.

A Safe Migration Promotion Unit (SMU) to prevent illegal emigration on forged visas through the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) has been established at the departure terminal of the airport by Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manush Nanayakkara.

The minister said several individuals had left for Oman, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates on forged visas and it has created serious issues.

He said the Safe Migration Unit was established on the recommendations of the Ministry of Defense and the National Task Force to Prevent Human Smuggling to prevent the movement of passengers on illegal travel documents.

The SMU comprises officers of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, the CID, the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the State Intelligence Service.

Minister Nanayakkara said it would function as a pilot project for three months and will be further improved thereafter.

Chairman of the Airport and Aviation Company Maj. Gen. (Rtd) G.A. Chandrasiri, Airport Management Chief H.S. Hettiarachchi, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Hilmi Azeez, General Manager Priyantha Senanayake and several senior police and CID officials were present at the occasion.

(dailymirror.lk)