Cabinet approval has been granted to award the contract for the renovation of the section of the road from Kottawa to Dodangoda of the Southern Expressway. 

The section of the road from Kottawa to Dodangoda on the Southern Expressway, which was opened to traffic in 2011, has not undergone any major repairs to date. 

The government states that the expeditious renovation of the expressway section from 0 km to 19 km and the expressway section from 19 km to 34 km of the Southern Expressway has been identified under two (2) packages. 

Accordingly, the damaged expressway section from 0 km to 19 km, covering a 19 km stretch of a 4-lane expressway, has been planned to be repaired under the second package. 

Bids have been invited from local contractors under the national competitive procedure, and five bids have been submitted for that purpose. 

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport and Highways to award the relevant contract to M/s Access WKK Joint Venture, the lowest responsive bidder.

The contract is to be awarded for the amount of Rs. 1,490.96 million based on the recommendations of the Bid Evaluation Committee and the Cabinet Standing Procurement Committee. (Newswire)

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A house in the Wilpatha area in ​​Dodangoda was shot at early today (Jan 15), according to the Dodangoda Police.

The Police said shots had been fired at several windows of the house, while no casualties or injuries had been reported in the incident.

The Kalutra Division Crimes Investigation Unit is conducting investigations into the shooting.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the shooting had targetted the house of a retired Police officer.

Police investigations state unidentified gunmen had opened fire at the house after calling out the name of the youngest son of the retired Police officer.

The Police report states that, however, the youngest son is currently overseas. (Newswire)

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A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of allegedly stealing Rs. 1.5 million in cash belonging to his grandmother, it was reported.

The suspect, a student of an international school, was arrested by the Dodangoda Police on Thursday (Feb 08). 

The Dodangoda Police received a complaint on January 31 claiming that the cash had been stolen from a house in the Minuwandeniya area in Dodangoda. 

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the robber had used a ladder and climbed in through the roof to steal the money at the time when the woman was not at the residence.

A Police probe launched into the incident had led to the grandson being arrested on suspicion.

It was found that the boy had not reported to school on the said day and had visited his grandmother’s house, during which he had found she was not home. 

He had then, climbed through the roof into the house and entered his grandmother’s room, where he had found Rs. 1.5 million kept under the mattress of the bed.

The boy had left with the cash and a laptop, after which he had buried the cash in the garden of a relative and had thrown the laptop into a well also found at the same property. 

He was also found to have spent Rs. 100,000 from the stolen cash with various individuals. 

The Police said the cause for the robbery is yet to be ascertained, while investigations are underway into the incident. (NewsWire)

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