The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, as you know, current emission testing is done at idle, not under running conditions, so it does not reflect real‑world conditions. We are moving towards tests at that level, and certain decisions have already been taken. The VET Fund was established pursuant to a Supreme Court order by a five‑judge bench around 1998 to institute an organization to test vehicle emissions. So, this is not merely by statute but also by Supreme Court directive. Yet many problems remain.

¶ 02 Regarding the recent Ella accident, that bus had been purchased for about Rs. 5.5 million and had about Rs. 8 million spent on repairs. The driver appears to have driven more than 30 hours without rest. We have allocated Rs. 1,000 million to install guard mirrors on winding roads in the hill country—this is from prior allocations, not due to the recent incident. We are introducing a new programme in the hill country to be “a bit more careful.” Accident prevention must become a culture—vehicles, people, and drivers must all commit.

¶ 03 Also, a recent court order directed providing accessibility at all railway stations for persons with disabilities. Before that, the Department of Railways had not provided a proper policy response to court. We instructed the Department accordingly. Our Government’s policy is to care for persons with disabilities. We even brought a Member to Parliament to represent them. Though we cannot do everything at once, we will maximize accessibility at stations and public places, and we have informed Court of our policy.