The Supplementary Estimate of Rs. 200 million sought by the Ministry of Industrial Development to upgrade the local tyre industry, could not receive Parliamentary approval as the House was adjourned abruptly since there was no quorum.

Industrial Minister Kumara Welgama, initiating the debate on Supplementary Estimate, said that the approval of the House was needed for the allocation of this sum to reinvigorate the local tyre industry hard-hit by the global economic downturn. Its woes were compounded by expensive forward deals for raw materials.

UNP Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekera, JVP MP Premasiri Manage also spoke, but when the next speaker, Minister of Textile Industry Development Mahinda Ratnatilake rose to speak, MP Manage pointed out that there was no quorum in the House. Presiding Member Deputy Chairman of Committees Ramalingam Chandrasekar rang the quorum bell for five minutes and stopped the proceedings for five more minutes to allow more members to be present and meet the quorum, but to no avail. Secretary General Dhammika Kitulagoda informed the presiding member that there were only eight members inside the chamber at the time. From the Government ranks there were Industrial Development Minister Kumara Welgama, Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister DEW Gunasekera, Textile Industry Development Minister Mahinda Ratnatilake and Public Estate Management and Development Minister Milroy Fernando. In the Opposition Benches were MPs Mohamed Noushad of the SLMC, Thomas William of TNA and Premasiri Manage of the JVP.

Finally, Presiding Member MP Chandrasekar adjourned the House for the day at 2.15 p.m.

The quorum is twenty members including the Presiding Officer. If a quorum is not present and if the attention of the Presiding Officer is drawn to this fact, the Presiding Officer must cause the quorum bells to be rung and at the expiration of five minutes if a quorum is not present, he can adjourn Parliament.