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2024 in Sri Lanka

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The following lists notable events that took place during the year 2024 in Sri Lanka.

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Events

Events by month

January

February

  • 2 February – Minister of Environment Keheliya Rambukwella and former Secretary to the Ministry of Health Janaka Chandragupta are arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo and produced to Maligawatta courts following their connection to a scandal over the importation of substandard immunoglobulin injections that saw around Rs. 130 million misappropriated. A judge orders him to be remanded until 15 February.[17][18]
  • 3 February – Following his arrest, Minister of Environment Keheliya Rabukwella resigns from his ministerial post following public pressure.[19]
  • 23 February
    • A Russian-owned cafe in Unawatuna schedules a controversial "white only" party to be held on 24 February, where a face control policy would be employed to restrict entry solely to white individuals and attendees. The Russian DJ hosting the party elaborates by saying the party was open only to "white people, no locals." Following public backlash, the event is cancelled. The DJ later says on Instagram that he left Sri Lanka with his family.[20][21]
    • The Department of Immigration and Emigration issues a notice granting 14 days, starting from 23 February, for Russian and Ukrainian tourists living long-term in Sri Lanka to leave the country. Many of these tourists had been residing in Sri Lanka on periodic extensions of their tourist visas since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.[21][22] The notice is passed without prior approval from the Cabinet of Sri Lanka, thus prompting president Wickremesinghe to order an investigation into the announcement.[23][24]
  • 24 February – Red Sea crisis: The Sri Lanka Navy confirms that one of its ships has completed its maiden patrol in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and is set to return to the country.[25] The vessel is later revealed to be SLNS Gajabahu and the Sri Lankan government confirms that patrols would continue.[26][27]

March

April

  • 3 April – Sri Lanka is ranked as the best destination for solo female travelers in 2024, according to the London-based global magazine Time Out.[43]
  • 4 April – Actress Damitha Abeyratne and her husband are arresrted and remanded over alleged financial fraud.[44][45]
  • 5 April – The special luxury tourist train titled ‘Dunhinda Odyssey’ is launched, to mark the centenary of the inception of train services on the Colombo–Badulla line.[46]
  • 8 April – International cricketer Kamindu Mendis wins the ICC Men’s Player of the Month Award for March 2024.[47]
  • 18 April
    • Sri Lanka breaks the record for the highest-ever successful run-chase in women’s ODIs by chasing 302 runs against South Africa.[48]
    • Piyumi Wijesekara is selected among NASA’s new crew for the next simulated Mars journey and goes to the Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA.[49]
  • 21 April – 2024 Fox Hill Supercross race crash: Seven people are killed and 18 others are injured after a racecar plows into spectators at a racing event organised by the Sri Lanka Military Academy in Diyatalawa.[50]
  • 22 April – The Sri Ramayan Trails project, an Indo-Sri Lankan cultural and religious bond, is officially launched.[51]
  • 23 April – Female cricketer Chamari Athapaththu becomes the top-ranked batter in the ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings.[52]
  • 24 April

May

June

  • 1 June – Sprinter Aruna Darshana wins the gold medal in the Men’s 400m event at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships with a timing of 45.82 seconds. Meanwhile Tharushi Karunarathna wins the gold medal in the Women’s 400m event with a timing of 52.48 seconds. On 2 June, she wins the gold medal in the Women’s 800 meters event with a timing of 2.05.74 minutes.[70][71]
  • 3 June – All the schools nationwide are closed due to prevailing adverse weather conditions.[72]
  • 4 June – Hemali Kothalawala, Director General of the Department of Animal Production and Health is appointed as Vice President of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Regional Commission for Asia and the Pacific.[73]
  • 5 June – A 45-year-old man and two women are arrested for brutally assaulting a four-year-old child in a viral social media video.[74]
  • 11 June – The Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka says it has received assurances from Russia that it would stop recruiting Sri Lankan citizens to fight in Ukraine.[75]
  • 13 June – International women's cricketer Chamari Athapaththu wins the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for the month May 2024.[76]
  • 15 June – Rumesh Tharanga wins the Gold medal in the Javelin Throw event at the Asian Throwing Championships with a new Sri Lanka record of 85.45m.[77]
  • 21 June – The Sri Lanka women's cricket team wins the ODI series against West Indies 3-0, for the first time in 16 years.[78]
  • 26 June – The Sri Lankan government reaches an agreement with external lenders to restructure $5.8 billion in public debt.[79]
  • 28 June – Former MP Hirunika Premachandra is sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court after being found guilty of being involved in the abduction of a youth in the Dematagoda area in 2015.[80]
  • 29 June – Four fishermen are reported dead aboard a vessel after drinking liquids from bottles found floating off the coast of Tangalle.[81]

July

  • 7 July – Thirteen people are injured after a panicked elephant chases a crowd during a Hindu religious procession at the Kataragama temple.[82]
  • 9 July – Shanmugam Kugathasan of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) is sworn in as a Member of Parliament to fill the seat left vacant after the death of former TNA leader R. Sampanthan.[83]
  • 10 July – Members of the Station Masters’ Union go on strike over administrative and human resource issues, resulting in the cancellation of hundreds of scheduled train journeys nationwide.[84]
  • 16 July – Sri Lankan-born award winning celebrity baker Tharshan Selvarajah becomes the first Sri Lankan to carry the Olympic Torch, carrying it out at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[85]
  • 20 July – Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Raheem is arrested by Kalpitiya police due to a controversy with a stock of undeclared gold and mobile phones in 2023.[86]
  • 21 July – Asanka Abeygunasekara, former Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka (INSSSL) is arrested over a case filed by the Inland Revenue Department and later granted bail.[87]
  • 22 July – International women's cricketer Chamari Athapaththu becomes the first centurion in the history of the Women’s Twenty-20 Asia Cup, after smashing an unbeaten 119 runs (69 balls) with 14 boundaries and 7 sixes against Malaysia.[88]
  • 28 July – The Sri Lanka women's cricket team becomes the Asia Cup champions for the first time after beating India in the final.[89]
  • 29 July – Colombo Port is ranked as the world’s fastest-growing port in the first quarter of 2024 with a 23.6% growth rate according to Alphaliner, a research publication in the shipping industry.[90]

August

September

October

  • 3 October – Spin bowler Praveen Jayawickrama is banned from competing in cricket for one year by the International Cricket Council for failing to report an approach to fix a match during the Lanka Premier League tournament in 2021.[125]
  • 8 October – The Matale High Court issues an arrest warrant against former Sri Lankan cricketer and current Chairman of the Selection Committee at Sri Lanka Cricket Upul Tharanga over failure to appear before the court pertaining to a match-fixing case during the 2024 Legends Cricket Trophy.[126]
  • 11 October – The nomination period for the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election ends.[127] Many longstanding politicians opt out of running for reelection, including former presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena.[128]
  • 14 October
    • Arjun Aloysius, Director of W.M. Mendis Distilleries, and two others are sentenced to 6 months in prison for defaulting a payment of Rs. 3.5 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT) by Colombo Magistrate’s Court.[129]
    • Cricketer Kamindu Mendis wins the ICC Men’s player of the Month award for a second time.[130]
    • All schools in the Colombo, Gampaha, Kelaniya, Kolonnawa and Kaduwela Education Zones are closed for two days due to adverse weather conditions.[131]
  • 15 October – “Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams Sri Lanka”, a 687 room luxury hotel is officially declared open in Colombo by the John Keells Group.[132]
  • 17 October – Sri Lanka wins the maiden T20I series victory over the West Indies after winning the third T20I by 9 wickets.[133]
  • 18 October – A train carrying fuel collides with a herd of elephants in Minneriya, killing two of the animals, derailing the train and causing a major leakage.[134]
  • 20 October – Sri Lankan formula racer Yevan David wins the Euroformula, becoming the first ever Sri Lankan to participate in this category having advanced from F4 racing with a 1m43.444s.[135]
  • 23 October – Former Minister Johnston Fernando is arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department over possession of an illegally assembled luxury vehicle.[136]
  • 24 October – Three people are arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to attack Israeli nationals in the country.[137]
  • 31 October – Former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte is arrested over an incident of discovering a car without number plates at his wife’s house in Mirihana, Nugegoda.[138]

November

December

  • 13 December – Speaker of the Parliament Asoka Ranwala, following controversies surrounding alleged falsifications of his educational records, resigns from his position.[151][152]
  • 20 December – The Sri Lanka Navy rescues more than 100 Rohingya refugees found aboard a fishing trawler off the country's northern coast.[153]
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Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

  • 17 November – Theja Iddamalgoda, 61, composer[202]
  • 25 November – Piyadasa Welikannage, 90, author[203]
  • 30 November – Lionel Wijesinghe, 92, dramatist[204]

December

  • 12 December – Rizwan Fa, 47, actor, model[205]
  • 16 December – Thilaka Kudahetti, 87, author[206]
  • 24 December – Priya Suriyasena, 80, singer[207]
  • 25 December – Wasantha Handapangoda, scholar, activist[208]
  • 29 December – Nandadasa Rajapaksa, business tycoon[209]
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References

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