President Issues Gazette Notification Declaring 15 Services Essential

 President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has issued an extraordinary gazette notification, declaring the services of 15 institutions as essential services.

Among the services declared essential are electricity, supply or distribution of fuel including petroleum products and gas, hospitals, water supply, public transport services, supply of food and essential goods, ambulance services, the Central Bank and all state banks, insurance services, and irrigation-related services. The 15 services are as follows:

1. All services related to the supply of electricity 
2. Supply or distribution of fuel, including petroleum products and gas 
3. All services, work, or labor of any description necessary or required for the maintenance and reception, care, feeding, and treatment of patients in hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries, and other similar institutions 
4. Public transport services for passengers or goods 
5. Facilitation and maintenance of transport services by road, rail, or air, including roads, bridges, culverts, airports, ports, and railways, and services for tourism 
6. All services related to water supply and drainage 
7. All services related to the supply, safeguarding, and distribution of food and essential commodities 

8. All services, work, or labor contributions of whatever nature required to be performed or necessary to be performed by field-level officers of all District Secretariats and Divisional Secretariats, including all District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats, Grama Niladharis, Samurdhi Development Officers, Agricultural Research Assistants, Community Empowerment Officers, and former Sri Lanka Central Group Officers. 
9. Ambulance services 
10. All state banking and insurance services, including the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 
11. Any function carried out by any local government authority for water supply, electricity, drainage and sewerage systems, fire fighting and ambulance services, refuse purification and removal (including the removal and disposal of excreta), and all services carried out by local government authorities 
12. All services related to irrigation 
13. All services related to telephone, telecommunications, and media 
14. All services related to land reclamation and development 
15. All services related to agricultural and agricultural insurance services