Police have fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse a protest staged by teachers and principals over salary anomalies.

The teachers and principals launched a protest march from the Fort Railway Station and headed towards Lotus Road in Colombo, where the Police took measures to disperse the protest. 

The teacher-principal trade unions today launched an islandwide trade union action by reporting sick, forcing over 10,000 schools to close, while members of the trade union engaged in the protest march. (Newswire)

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Tear gas loses its effectiveness following expiration and does not cause serious harm to victims, Sri Lanka Police informed the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts.

A senior Police officer speaking during a discussion with COPA stated that this was why during certain instances in Sri Lanka the Police are seen handling tear gas with their hands.

He further stated that those alleging that expired tear gas cause serious harm to people, including death, must prove so, while it must also be proven that the tear gas in question was an expired product.

The information was relayed to the COPA committee by the Sri Lanka Police when questions were raised on a stock of tear gas imported in 2012 which is reported to be expired at present. 

Inspector General of Police (IGP) C. D. Wickremeratne also explained that the Police consists of two units, the proactive and reactive Police units, to deal with incidents in the country.

“The Police need to be prepared to face various security-related incidents. As preparatory measures, tear gas is imported. However, depending on the state of the country, there are instances where the tear gas is not used and tends to expire,” he said. (NewsWire)

Tear gas loses its effectiveness following expiration and does not cause serious harm to victims, Sri Lanka Police informed Parliament . A senior Police officer speaking during a discussion with COPA stated that this was why during certain instances in Sri Lanka the Police are… pic.twitter.com/a96CjJTP0E

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) April 28, 2023

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Several school children have been affected after inhaling tear gas fired by the Police to disperse a protest in Colombo today.

The Colombo University Students Union engaged in a protest march today objecting to the Police firing tear gas inside the university premises to disperse a protest by the Inter-University Students Federation yesterday (07).

The Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters today as well after they had entered Cambridge Place, which is surrounded by schools.

However, several young school children had fallen victim to the tear gas attack by the Police near Cambridge Place in Colombo.

The school children were seen coughing and in severe discomfort due to being in the midst of the tear gas attack and were rushed back inside a nearby school. (NewsWire)

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