Don’t travel to Tamil Nadu: Defence Ministry By Sunimalee Dias-Sunday, March 31, 2013 Defence Ministry officials are advising Sri Lankans against travelling to Tamil Nadu in the wake of recent attacks on Sri Lankans and Sri Lankan institutions there. Travel from Colombo to Chennai has also dropped by at least 30 per cent in recent weeks, travel trade sources said. �A two-hour meeting was held recently between ministry, airline and travel trade officials in Colombo. It is learnt that Indian visas issued in Colombo have seen a 10 per cent drop in the recent past. Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka President Saman Premakumara said Defence Ministry officials had advised them to avoid Tamil Nadu as much as possible. Though this was not issued as a directive but only as an advice to the local industry in relation to Sri Lankans’ safety, the travel agents had been told to avoid all land travel in Tamil Nadu and permission was granted only for transit at the Chennai airport, he said. However, Mr. Premakumara said that in view of the concerns raised they had decided to avoid even transiting in Chennai. Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Travel Operators President Mahen Kariyawasam said the defence officials asked them to avoid the Chennai airport, even for those going on pilgrimages. They were advised to travel directly to Bodh Gaya or via New Delhi. He said these travel plans would be reviewed after a month.�SriLankan Airlines Chief Marketing Officer G.T. Jayaseelan said there had been a 20 per cent drop in air travel to Chennai. As a result, they had reduced flights by about 50 per cent. �Spicejet Colombo General Manager J.D. Weimen said they had seen a drop of around 25-30 per cent over the last three to four weeks due to the recent media reports on the unrest in Chennai against Sri Lankans. Air Indian Express Manager Tony Fernando said their load factor had dropped from 85 per cent to 50 per cent but they too were continuing to operate the same number of flights to Chennai.�Air India Express was bound to lose revenue, he said down from the monthly Rs. 50 million earnings to even less than Rs. 30 million this month. CPC loses US$ 8.9 M

The purchase of an additional 120,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil from a Singapore-based company has cost the cash-strapped Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) an additional whooping US$ 8.9 million (8,935,428), Ceylon Today can reveal. In spite of financial losses, the CPC has extended the agreement for further six months, to purchase another 480,000-560,000 MT at an inflated price, which would cost the CPC an additional US$ 1.5 million per shipment. According to the latest terms, which have been inserted to the agreement, PV Oil would receive an additional US$ 5 per barrel. Under these terms, the CPC would lose a minimum of US$ 1.5 million per shipment, according to the documentations of the agreement obtained by Ceylon Today. The trade unionists alleged the consignment was increased from 240,000 MT to 320,000 MT by the current management, which had executed an arbitrary decision taken by the ex-chairman. The trade unions alleged though the premium offered by the Singapore based company, PV Oil Singapore, was competitive and advantageous to the CPC, the payment terms in the agreement have been arbitrarily amended by the previous administrations. Trade unionist, Ananda Palitha of Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya said two ex-chairmen had manipulated the agreement in order to grant undue financial advantage to the Singaporean company. The trade unions alleged, in spite of financial losses incurred due to the previous agreement, the current administration has decided to extend the agreement with PV Oil Singapore for the purchase of another 480,000-560,000MT for the next six months. According to the latest terms, which had been inserted to the agreement, PV Oil would receive an additional US$ 5 per barrel. Under these terms, the CPC would lose a minimum of US$ 1.5 million per every shipment, the trade unions alleged. Earlier, when contacted, Minister of Petroleum Industries, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, said the government would negotiate with the Vietnamese Government over the agreement it had with the PV Oil, which is a Vietnamese State-owned company. "Since the agreement is a government-to-government agreement, we cannot arbitrarily end it," he said. Managing Director of the CPC, Susantha de Silva, was not available for comment. Repeated telephone calls to his mobile went unanswered.

2013-04-01