An explanation about the video of performing massage therapy for foreign tourists in a train !

When the existing laws and regulations of the country are not followed by citizens, they are subjected to punishments and are required to a pay a fine. But in some cases, if the rules and regulations are implemented in a way that they are not affecting a certain group, there will be certain criticism. Below is a fact check we conducted based on a social media post in regard of a such situation.

Social Media Posts

A video was circulated on social media claiming “The latest thing that is implemented for foreigners in local trains” (“විදේශ සංචාරකයින්ට දුම්රියේ පටන් ගන්න අලුත්ම වැඩේ”). The video contained a clip of some foreigners receiving body massages while traveling on train.

Facebook

Many people had commented on this claiming that this was a project carried out by the Railway Department as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs to attract foreigners.

This video was circulated through WhatsApp as well.

We decided to do a fact check regarding this, based on the requests we received for an explanation regarding the incidents, and questions whether this is a new project for foreigners travelling by train in Sri Lanka.

Fact Check

First of all, we checked whether the main stream media has reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken up a project to provide accommodation opportunities for foreigners in train carriages as shown in the above video. We have come to know that there is no such report regarding such a project or any mention that such a project will be implemented by that ministry.

Accordingly, we carried out our investigation through a statement we found claiming that this project was implemented by an Ayurvedic hospital and the name of the Ayurvedic doctor, who is the owner.

When we contacted the Ayurvedic doctor over the phone he mentioned that this project is conducted by a subsidiary of a well know private hotel chain in Sri Lanka, which facilitates traveling for tourists. He mentioned that it is a project which was carried out for the 50^th anniversary of the hotel and 160 Bulgarians participated in this trip. He stated that the foreigners received Ayurvedic massage therapy from professionals registered with the Ayurveda Department while traveling on a separately chartered train from Pilimathalawa to Colombo. He mentioned that this is not the professional in his Ayurvedic hospital, but a group of people gathered from different areas, and that this is a program carried out by the aforementioned institution.

Accordingly, we inquired about this from the organization in question and contacted the tour group coordinator. He explained that head, leg, and shoulder massage therapy was provided by Ayurvedic professionals as a unique experience for the foreigners during their journey from Pilimathalawa to Colombo on a train specifically chartered through the Railway Department. He further clarified that all trains were thoroughly cleaned, sanitized, and returned to the Railway Department afterward.

Note: we have confirmed the hotel chain in question, but as per their request, the name of the hotel and their travel agency has not been mentioned here.

Railway Department

We inquired about this from the Deputy General Manager of Sri Lanka Railway Department, Mr. N.J. Indipola and he mentioned that, this a special train booked by a private travel agency to travel from Pilimathalawa to Colombo on the 15^th and it was not informed to them that there is going to be a massage therapy program. He mentioned that if they were aware of it, they would not allow such an activity to be conducted in the train. He pointed out that it is usually possible to reserve a train, and this incident has taken place at such an instance, and claimed that it is not a program carried out by the Railway Department or the Ministry of Tourism. However, he further stated that they will conduct an investigation in this regard.

We also inquired the General Manager of Sri Lanka Railway Department J. I. D. Jayasundara. He mentioned that as a railway employee, he sees this program as a very demeaning act. Addressing the media briefing held in Colombo yesterday (16), he stated that the incident did not occur on a regular passenger train operated by the Sri Lanka Railways, but on a special train hired by a private tourism company. He explained that private companies are allowed to hire trains form the Railway for activities related to tourism promotion and that this particular incident has taken place at such a train. He furthermore mentioned, “As soon as I was informed about this, I instructed  the relevant sections to immediately initiate an investigation into this matter. The Tourist  Police were also informed about the incident and it will  initiate a separate investigation. An investigation has already been initiated and we will recover the losses incurred to the train compartment from the responsible parties.  Following the investigation, legal action will also be taken in the future”.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

We made an inquiry with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism to further confirm this. They mentioned that such a project was not carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that there was not awareness about this.

Join us to learn more about our investigative fact findings.

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