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Fact Check
Labour Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha says the government will soon ban pilgrimages to Dambadiva, Thailand, and Dubai because they drain money out of Sri Lanka.
The viral News 1st news card is fabricated. The Ministry of Labour and Dr. Anil Jayantha have both confirmed that he never made such a statement.
A purported News 1st Sinhala news card, carrying the photograph of Labour Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha, states in Sinhala that he has proposed a ban on religious pilgrimages to Dambadiva.
The translation of the Sinhala text on the news card reads, “Proposal from the Deputy Finance Minister – We will soon ban foreign trips like Dambadiva pilgrimage, Thailand, and Dubai. This will cause the country’s dollars to flow abroad. If you want to have fun, go to the village temple or Anuradhapura. There are plenty of places to have fun in Sri Lanka.”
Dambadiva is the sacred birthplace of the Buddha and remains one of the holiest destinations for Buddhists, spanning parts of northern India and southern Nepal. Every year, thousands of Sri Lankan devotees travel to these sacred sites to pay homage. As a result, the news card spread rapidly across social media platforms.
We conducted a keyword search to determine whether Dr. Anil Jayantha had made such a statement during media programmes, political speeches, Cabinet media briefings, or other public events. However, we found no evidence that the minister had made any remarks about banning pilgrimages to Dambadiva or other foreign religious destinations.
To further verify the claim, we reviewed the official website and social media platforms of News 1st Sinhala and found no record of the purported news card being published.
We also found a media statement issued by the Ministry of Labour on July 20, 2026, clarifying that the minister had never made such a statement and that the circulating claim was entirely fabricated. The ministry stated that the false information was being spread by groups pursuing narrow political agendas aimed at undermining Sri Lanka’s social, political, and religious harmony. It further emphasised that the government respects and upholds the religious freedom of all citizens and that no ban on pilgrimages to any destination has been proposed or imposed.
We also reviewed a statement published on Dr. Anil Jayantha’s official Facebook page on 18 July 2026, in which he confirmed that the circulating News 1st news card was fake.
Additionally, news reports published by Newswire, Daily Mirror, and Lanka Newsweb on 20 July 2026 reported that the Ministry of Labour had rejected as false the social media claims alleging that Dr. Anil Jayantha had proposed banning religious pilgrimages to Dambadiva and Thailand.
The viral claim surfaced at a time when Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims were facing genuine difficulties travelling to India. In July 2026, the long-standing concessional one-month Indian visa facility previously available for Sri Lankan pilgrims was suspended following changes to visa processing procedures introduced by the High Commission of India on security grounds. As a result, pilgrims were required to apply for visas through the standard process, increasing costs and creating practical difficulties for both devotees and Buddhist pilgrimage tour operators.
The suspension of the concessionary visa scheme prompted concerns among pilgrimage organisers. General Secretary of the Overseas Buddhist Tour Organizers Association, Mahendra Halloluwa, warned that the new procedures had significantly increased the financial burden on pilgrims while also disrupting the organisation of group tours to Buddhist sacred sites in India. In response, the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Cultural Affairs requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to engage with the Indian High Commission to resolve the visa-related issues faced by Sri Lankan pilgrims.
Against this backdrop, the fabricated News 1st news card falsely claiming that Dr. Anil Jayantha proposed banning pilgrimages to Dambadiva spread widely on social media, despite there being no such government proposal.
The claim that Labour Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha proposed banning pilgrimages to Dambadiva, Thailand, and other foreign destinations is false. The viral News 1st news card is fabricated, and both the Ministry of Labour and the minister have confirmed that he never made such a statement.
FAQs
Q1. What does the viral News 1st news card claim?
It claims that Dr. Anil Jayantha proposed banning foreign pilgrimages, including Dambadiva, Thailand, and Dubai, to prevent foreign exchange from leaving Sri Lanka.
Q2. Did Dr. Anil Jayantha make this statement?
No. The minister has denied making the statement, and no verified source shows that he ever made such remarks.
Q3. Why did the claim gain attention online?
The claim spread at a time when Sri Lankan pilgrims were facing genuine visa-related difficulties travelling to India, making the fabricated news card appear believable to some social media users.
Our Sources
Media statement issued by the Ministry of Labour on July 20, 2026.
Facebook post published on the official Dr. Anil Jayantha Facebook page on July 18, 2026.
News report by Sri Lanka Mirror, published on July 16, 2026.
News report by Sri Lanka Mirror, published on July 18, 2026.
News report by Aruna news, published on July 16, 2026.
News report by Newswire, published on July 20, 2026.
News report by Daily Mirror, published on July 20, 2026.
News report by Lanka Newsweb, published on July 20, 2026.
False
