President addresses nation : Slashes Dhal & tinned fish prices

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa called on all Sri Lankans to cooperate with the government to ensure that the threat posed by the Covid-19 coronavirus does not get out of hand.

Addressing the nation in Sinhala earlier this evening (17), the President detailed the various measures the government has taken to combat the virus.


Giving reasons as to why he had dissolved parliament and justifying the move, the president also called citizens rally around himself and the leadership of his brother - Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM, to appoint a powerful government at the upcoming General election.

He also announced that prices of dhal and canned fish had been fixed with effect from midnight today as a concession to the public in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Accordingly, a kilo of dhal would be sold at Rs.65 per kilo while a tin of canned fish would be sold at Rs.100.

President Rajapaksa also announced that banks have been ordered to suspend collecting loans for six months and provide working capital for businesses loans at 4 percent, as the country is battling the Covid-19 epidemic.