The Lake House that prints the Budhusarana newspaper had printed 550,000 copies as a special Vesak issue this year, but over 300,000 copies have been returned by the sales agents due to poor sales.

Lake House had printed over 500,000 copies of the paper on a directive by Chairman Bandula Padmakumara although sales manager Sendanayake had said such a large number of copies could not be sold.

The returns of paper are no reaching Lake House and they are being hidden in three locations in the institution. Returns of other issues printed by the institution are usually stored in the Kew Yard, but the returns of the Budhusaran Vesak issue are being stored at Lake House’s Kotahena and head office warehouses.

A Lake House SLFP trade union leader said Lake House Chairman Bandula Padmakumara was trying to mislead the President by printing over 60 percent of the required number of issues of publications and that all other members of the Lake House Board have objected to the move.

Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunge has directed that all returns of Lake House publications be handed over to the National Paper Corporation. However, the trade unionist said Chairman Padmakumara in violation of this directive was engaged in selling the returns to Indian traders and collecting large commissions.