988 prisoners released for Vesak Poya
On the occasion of Vesak full moon Poya day, the President has decided to offer a special state amnesty to 988 prison inmates.
The Prisons Department said that the special state amnesty has been granted for the incarcerated prisoners according to the powers assigned to the President in terms of Article 34 of the Constitution.
Accordingly, 982 male prisoners and six female prisoners who have not committed criminal offences were released from all prisons in the country today under the special Presidential amnesty.Apart from this, a special opportunity has been given to the family members to visit the prisoners today and tomorrow on the occasion of Vesak.
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National carrier SriLankan Airlines has clarified on the diversion of 03 flights to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport yesterday (04) and today (05).
In a statement, SriLankan Airlines says :
SriLankan Airlines would like to inform that UL 605 from Melbourne to Colombo was diverted to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport yesterday (4 May 2023) due to inclement weather at Bandaranaike International Airport. The aircraft had to further remain on ground at Mattala as the operating crew of the flight had reached their flight duty time limitation according to civil aviation regulations.
There were 294 passengers, 3 infants and 15 crew members onboard UL 605. Passengers who were to disembark in Sri Lanka were provided with ground transport to Colombo and passengers travelling beyond Sri Lanka were given hotel accommodation in and around Mattala until the flight’s departure to Bandaranaike International Airport.
SriLankan Airlines regrets any inconvenience caused to passengers as a result of diverting the flight, which was a necessary measure to ensure a safe landing for the passengers and crew members onboard. The airline is currently making every effort to connect affected passengers to their final destination.
The Duty Officer at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake said that three planes en route to BIA were diverted to Mattala Airport due to the adverse weather.
He said that due to the heavy rains and lightning occured around the BIA last night (04) and this morning, these planes were diverted to Mattala.
It was reported that there were 297 passengers on one of the planes that arrived from Melbourne, Australia.
The other two planes were from Malé, Maldives and Dammam.
A special bus service will be launched from today (5) till May 8 to cover areas where Vesak zones are being held and sacred places visited by devotees in large numbers, the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) said.
SLTB Chairman Lalith de Silva said that the special bus service will be operated from 6.00 am to midnight.
