Colombo:
There is a shortage of rice in Sri Lanka. At the same time, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had recently said that there is no money to import rice.
Similarly, paddy was not purchased from local farmers due to lack of money. Private TV stations are constantly broadcasting news of farmers being sent back without money at paddy procurement stations.
The main opposition Samagi Jana Palavekaya has strongly accused the government in this matter. This party M.P. Rohini Kaviratne said, ‘The government was begging foreign countries for free rice. At the same time, paddy was not procured from the local farmers,’ he alleged.
He said the government should be ashamed of not having money to buy rice, but also slammed that the government seems to have enough money to appoint 37 new ministers.