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Power cut interrupts sittings in House
by Kesara Abeywerdena January 09 The Island: Interruptions in the power supply in Parliament yesterday compelled Speaker Joseph Michael Perera to suspend sittings at 10.10 a.m., just ten minutes after sittings commenced. The Speaker suspended sittings for ten minutes but the House could not meet till 10.50 a.m. due to constant interruption in the supply of power. Government ministers and MPs urged the Speaker to hold an investigation as Parliament experienced power failures at regular intervals. On Monday, the second islandwide power cut for the new year was experienced at 9.45 p.m. It lasted for over an hour. The blackout was a moment of amusement for many MPs specially from the opposition to make remarks ridiculing the government. When a smiling Power and Energy Minister Karu Jayasuriya walked in while the house was in darkness he was greeted with applause from the opposition. Chief Opposition Whip Mangala Samaraweera cracked: "This might be a conspiracy to put you in trouble." It was later found out that the blackout was due to a faulty sub-circuit in a table lamp causing the trip to go off. Since the commencement of the new year, several areas islandwide have experienced power cuts which have lasted over one hour. (09/01/03 go2lanka.com) |