At a media briefing, he said a total of 60,000 vehicles had been imported during the month of September 2015.

In 1950, the country has around 5,000 fuel-powered vehicles only, said the minister.

Head count of beggars

A head count of beggars was done and the result was that Colombo city and the western province respectively had 400 and nearly 1,000 engaged in begging, he went onto say.

One third of them are children, while as many are persons with disabilities, he added.