The Sri Lankan military’s 221 Brigade celebrated its anniversary last month by distributing lunch to Tamil civilians at an orphanage and elderly care centre in Trincomalee.

Soldiers from the Security Force Headquarters East (SFHQ-E) handed out meals and “essential sanitary items” on March 20, according to an official army website, which also said:

“Inmates were entertained by the Calypso Group of the 2 (V) GR”.

An abandoned well near Thirukketheeswaram in Mannar is to be examined later this month for possible skeletons, reports Lankasri.

The well is located by mass grave sites which were unearthed in Mannar in 2013.

Mannar district judge, Alexraja ordered an investigation into the well, which will begin on April 29.

The mass grave was first discovered in December 2013, when construction workers found two human skeletons whilst digging in Thirukketheeswaram.

Speaking ahead of the release of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee report, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Freedom From Torture, Sonya Sceats expressed concern at the UK government’s conduct with Sri Lanka.

Processes in Sri Lanka towards accountability and justice must keep victims at the centre, said Dharsha Jegatheeswaran in an article for the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s Rights Review Magazine.

Commenting on the erosion of victims’ confidence since UN Resolution 30/1, alongside the government’s reneging on its commitments thereunder, Ms Jegatheeswaran said,

“Initial cautious hopes of Tamil victims and war-affected communities have turned to distrust and skepticism of the government’s intentions as a result of this mixed messaging. This distrust has been further deepened by the government’s failure to undertake any meaningful confidence-building measures and address ongoing human rights violations, including: demilitarizing the North-East; repealing the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act and releasing all political prisoners arrested thereunder; returning all illegally acquired lands; and ending a culture of impunity/condonation for sexual violence and torture.”

The Indian government will provide 150 boats and equipment to 300 fishermen in Mullaitivu, in the North-East.

The Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka, YK Sinha signed a MoU to the effect with Sri Lanka's fisheries secretary W Adikari.

A statement by the Indian high commission said the SLR100mn project will be implemented in consultation with Sri Lanka's Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and relevant local authorities.

Sri Lanka's state-run water supply board has asked customers to stop the use of tap water to wash cars and water plants in order to help avoid water cuts, as hot weather and drought gripped the island.

National Water Supply and Drainage Board Chairman B W R Balasuriya warned that the agency may have to implement cuts to the water supply if the high usage currently seen continues, according to The Sunday Times newspaper.

Tea plantations have been hit hard, with several estates reducing output.

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena has urged the joint opposition to give up its struggle to topple the government and instead join the government in "rebuilding" the country.

"Some say that this government cannot go on. Their dream will never come true. I invite them to join us in rebuilding the nation instead of seeking to change the administration," the president said at an event in Eravur, in the Eastern Province.