A news story that was published on March 29th in Lankadeepa newspaper claimed that a Sri Lankan youth had invented a motor vehicle that runs on water. This news, which appeared on the technology section of the paper, created a lot of buzz on social media.

The report mentioned that this vehicle had been invented by a student from Ratnapura’s Okapathana Vidyalaya, and it was stated that the information had been sourced from the internet.

During the broadcast of Siyaatha television’s morning show, Siyaatha Paththare, the popular presenter Ranga de Silva also mentioned this news. While describing the story, he referred to the student as being from a school in Ratnapura, without any mention of “Okapathana” by name.

Link to the Program – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3870258506558124&rdid=DSA5NzLzbdryVU9A

Because the name “Okapathana” was the subject of mockery on social media, Factseeker decided to investigate further.

Several pieces of evidence were found, confirming that the news was false. The key reasons for this are:

• No verifiable information about the student involved in the invention was provided. 
• No photos of the student or the invention were published. 
• No major media outlets reported such an incident from Ratnapura. 
• There was no specific source or individual mentioned from whom the information was obtained. It was also noted that Lankadeepa had acknowledged that the story had been sourced from the internet. 

We contacted the Ratnapura District office to inquire about the existence of a school named “Okapathana Vidyalaya,” and they confirmed that no such school exists in the Ratnapura district.

However, in a follow-up inquiry with a senior editor of Lankadeepa, they acknowledged that the story was a mistake and that a correction was published on the 31st (yesterday) on page 6 of Lankadeepa.

Factseeker confirms that no such motor vehicle powered by water has been invented by a student in Sri Lanka, and there is no school named “Okapathana” in the Ratnapura district. Furthermore, the news published by Lankadeepa has been proven to be inaccurate.

In conclusion, the claim that a Sri Lankan student invented a water-powered motor vehicle and attended a school named “Okapathana” in Ratnapura has been debunked as false. The lack of credible sources, verifiable information, and supporting evidence led to the conclusion that the story was inaccurate. Lankadeepa has since acknowledged the mistake and published a correction.