'Lanka Muslim congress not to accept ministerial portfolios until issues are resolved'
Colombo, Jul 22: Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, an ally of the government on Monday said that they will not return to the government and accept any portfolio until proper solutions are found for the issues faced by the minority Muslims especially after the Easter Sunday attacks.
All Muslim ministers, including Cabinet, state and deputy ministers in the Sri Lankan government resigned from their ministerial portfolios on June 3 citing the government's failure to ensure the safety of Muslims following the attacks.
However, parliamentarians Kabir Hashim and Abdul Haleem re-accepted their ministerial portfolios on June 19.
The Muslim political parties have been raising concerns over the arrests of several Muslims while the Sinhala majority nationalist groups focused on targeting certain Muslim politicians who they claimed had helped the National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) to carry out the attacks on April 21.
Parliamentarian Rauf Hakeem said the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) supreme council held a special meeting on Sunday to decide whether to resume the ministerial portfolios left by the Muslim ministers in the government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Following the deliberations, the SLMC said they would not return to the government to take up ministerial positions despite appeals to change their stance.
"We have more outstanding issues and concerns of the Muslim community to deal with," Hakeem, the SLMC leader who was the Minister of Urban Development before his resignation told reporters.
He said the SLMC was hoping to meet Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to discuss the concerns of the Muslim community.
Nine suicide bombers from the radical Islamic group attacked three churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, killing 258 people and injuring 500 others.
The ISIS terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed the local Islamist extremist group NTJ for the Ester Sunday bombings.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
