News in brief

Sripada season begins on Sunday

The annual Sripada season starts on Unduwap Full Moon Poya Day, December 23. Arrangements have been made to provide facilities to the pilgrims.

All temporary shops on the footpath route from Nallathannie to Sripada Maluwa will be open on the first day of the season while all shop owners are busy repairing and clearing the business places.

With the bringing of the Buddha statues from Ratnapura on the first day, the incumbent Bhikkhu of Sripada Maluwa and other Bhikkhus will climb Sripada to take charge of the Maluwa on top of Sripada.

Security will be strengthened when the season starts at the Sripada range.

Hajj Festival on Friday

The Colombo Grand Mosque yesterday said the Hajj festival will be celebrated in Sri Lanka on Friday (December 21) as per the decision at the conference of Ulemas, Katheebs, Trustees of Jumma Mosques, representatives of the All Ceylon Jemmiyathul Ulema, Anjum Faiz-e-Raza and the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs.

The Colombo Grand Mosque in a release said there had been some confusion about the date of the Hajj Festival consequent to the announcement in Saudi Arabia that Hajj Festival will be celebrated on an earlier date in that country.

O/L impersonators released on bail

The Panadura Special Crime and Fraud Bureau arrested two students who impersonated at the GCE (Ordinary Level) Examination Centre at St. Anthony's College, Panadura by answering the arithmetic question paper posing as genuine candidates.

Police conducted investigations on receipt of a message from the 119 Police Emergency Service on Thursday.

The two students were not the candidates they posed as and were answering the arithmetic question paper without the invigilators' notice.

Mandadige Dhushan Manurange and Maddumage Tharidu Thushan Fernando were released on Rs. 10,000 cash and Rs. 25,000 personal bail by Panadura Acting Magistrate G. D. Perera.