Jan 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed provincial chief secretaries for the recently de-merged Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils.

The former North-East Provincial Council chief secretary S. Rangaraja is the new chief secretary for the Northern Provincial Council and R. Thiyagalingam has been appointed the Eastern Provincial Council secretary.

Earlier, the government had appointed one governor to cover both provinces.

The two provinces had been merged under the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord in 1987 and then separated last year after a Sri Lanka Supreme Court decision. The de-merger has created problems in relations with India as the regional superpower is demanding that the two provinces be merged again. City Bank Card, Chase low rate loan, American Express