India's Adani Group to develop Sri Lanka’s port terminal

by Gaya
Nov 9, 2020

India’s Adani Group is the frontrunner to develop Sri Lanka’s East Container Terminal (ECT) in Colombo port, despite opposition from Sinhala nationalist groups and trade unions.

Bloomberg reported that Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. and a local partner recently received approval to sign a deal with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Adani, India's biggest ports and logistics company, signed a preliminary agreement for the project last year.  The details of stake holdings are yet to be confirmed as opposition from rival political parties and unions fearing foreign control, had stalled the deal. 

The ECT project was jointly agreed upon by Sri Lanka, India and Japan however in early July, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa claimed that there was no finall decision on the project.

This statement followed strong opposition from rival political parties and unions which asserted that Sri Lanka was "giving away national assets" to India. This was even though Sri Lanka's port Authority was to retain 100% ownership of the facility, as per the 2019 tripartite Memorandum of Cooperation. 

 

 

 

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This demonstration, which culminated in a rally and speeches in Punchbowl, highlighted the plight of refugees denied permanent visas for over 12 years. Speakers at the event shed light on the profound impact of the current system, including barriers to higher education, employment, and access to essential services.

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Amaran - Problematic propaganda

amaran

The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

 

 

 

The patriotic military films of Tamil cinema had taken a back seat for a while. The subject matter is now seldom a prominent theme of a film, instead lurking in the shadows peeking through such as via the heroes in the works of Nelson Dilipkumar. The genre of war epic makes its grand re-entry to Tamil cinema with director Rajkumar Periasamy’s sophomore feature film, ‘Amaran.’ As is often the case with this genre, one cannot help but feel the events of the ‘true story’ onscreen have been heavily modified for easy consumption.

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Krishna's rating: 2.5 stars

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Official trailer for film below.

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un_spcial

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