Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes Lanka's new prime minister
Colombo: Sri Lanka's former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday took oath as the new prime minister of the island nation after incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe formally stepped down from his post.
Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the newly-elected President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, will function as the prime minister of the caretaker cabinet until the general election in August 2020.
The 74-year-old leader, who describe himself as "a rebel with a cause", earlier served as the country's president from 2005-2015, becoming South Asia's longest-serving leader. He was also prime minister for a brief period in 2018.
Gotabhaya on Wednesday named Rajapaksa as the new prime minister after incumbent Wickremesinghe announced his resignation from the post following the presidential election debacle.
Gotabaya defeated Wickremesinghe's deputy Sajith Premadasa in the presidential election held on November 16.
Rajapaksa was appointed the prime minister on October 26, 2018 by the then President Maithripala Sirisena, who sacked Wickremesinghe in a controversial move that plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.
He resigned on December 15 as two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the former strongman's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.
The apex court later unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was "illegal". Rajapaksa became the country's youngest ever parliamentarian in 1970 at the age of 24.
The two brothers -- Rajapaksa and Gotabaya -- led a decisive campaign that helped end the island nation's three decade long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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MP: 40 years after Bhopal gas disaster, toxic waste leaves Union Carbide factory for disposal
Bhopal, Jan 1: Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the shifting of some 377 tons of hazardous waste began from the defunct Union Carbide factory on Wednesday night for its disposal, an official said.
The toxic waste is being shifted in 12 sealed container trucks to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal.
"12 container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles which are expected to reach Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours," said Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh.
He said around 100 people worked in 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste in trucks.
"They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes," he added.
Highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues. It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 rebuked authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite directions from even the Supreme Court and set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a "state of inertia".
The high court bench had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.
"If everything is found to be fine, the waste will be incinerated within three months. Otherwise, it might take up to nine months," Singh told PTI on Wednesday morning.
Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the waste disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, Singh said.
The smoke from the incinerator will pass through special four-layer filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted, he added.
Once it is confirmed that no traces of toxic elements are left, the ash will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.
A team of experts under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board will carry out the process, Singh said.
Some local activists have claimed that 10 tons of Union Carbide waste was incinerated on a trial basis in Pithampur in 2015, after which the soil, underground water and water sources in surrounding villages became polluted.
But Singh rejected the claim, stating that the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after the report of the 2015 test and all the objections were examined.
There would be no reason to worry, he said.
A large number of people had on Sunday taken out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city which has a population of about 1.75 lakh.
12 trucks carrying 337 tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, stored for 40 years, left at 9:05 p.m. for Pithampur near Indore. The waste is expected to arrive early on January 2nd, following a 250-km green corridor with heavy security.
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