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| Thursday, 21 March 2002 |
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The Colombo Municipal Council took over to attend to the sweeping of the roads, cleaning of drains and the removal of garbage from all the housing units at the Anderson Flats at Colombo 5. Previously this task was attended to by a contractor who was selected by calling of tenders by the CMC. Since the Municipality staff commenced attending to the cleaning and removal of garbage this work has been carried out in a shoddy manner. There is no daily sweeping of the roads in a proper manner and sometimes sweepings are pushed into the drains. The drains are not cleaned of sand and other matter on a regular basis. The garbage removal is no better. The area in front of the sub post office is an eyesore. The Supervising officer does not appear to be performing his duties satisfactorily. The cleaning staff disappear in the afternoon. When this work was attended to by a private contractor a very good job of work was performed and no room was kept for any complaints. The CMC should either get their staff to carry out their duties in an efficient manner or in the alternative entrust this work to a private contractor as in the past, without allowing the present situation to deteriorate. M. RANJITH SILVA , In the case of public holidays, the mercantile sector has been given stepmotherly treatment in that most of the public holidays declared are not mercantile holidays - a case in point inter alia is Good Friday. It is declared a public and bank holiday by the government but alas not a mercantile holiday thus denying the Mercantile sector Christians a holiday on a day which to them is as holy as to the Christians in the public and banking sectors. Aren't the mercantile sector Christians not followers of Christ that the religious observances on a Good Friday are being deprived to them? O Tempora O mores! Good Friday is a universal holiday like Christmas, and to the Christians worldwide Good Friday has a very special significance. It is reckoned as the day of the manifestation of the supreme sacrificial love God, in His boundless bounty, granted to mankind by offering His only Son to die an ignominious death on a wooden cross so that the whole of mankind will be redeemed. That is the unshakeable Christian faith and belief. It is therefore beyond one's comprehension as to why the declaration of Good Friday also as a mercantile holiday has been overlooked with irritating frequency over the years by successive governments in power. The previous regime even at the last stages of its office, had the foresight to create a Ministry of Christian Affairs and placed a Minister to look after the needs and aspirations of the Christian population of this resplendent isle and to espouse their cause, if needs be in the Parliament. It is not too late for the present regime also to offer the same facility to the Christians by creating a Ministry of Christian Religious Affairs to be on a par with the similar Ministries created for Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs, Hindu Religious Affairs and Muslim Religious Affairs so that the Christian community too will feel that they are not being sidelined or ignored by the present government which has vowed to give every community and every citizen a fair and square deal from the time it came into power. May I earnestly appeal to the relevant government authorities to at least rectify the recurring anomaly by even at this eleventh hour declaring Good Friday which falls on the 29th of this month, a mercantile holiday as well (and grant it annual statutory status in the government calendar of holidays for subsequent years) so that the Christians in the Mercantile Sector also will have the peace of mind to pursue their religious observances fervently on that most holy day. RIENZIE I. PERERA, The country is in financial straits. At the same time there is need to find employment for the large numbers of youth who are passing out from schools and universities every year. With reasonable chances of a long time ceasefire, the services of the armed forces could be beneficially used. Here are some practical suggestions. (a) Massive tree planting project There has been large scale denudation of catchment areas, forests, mountain ranges which possibly is one of the major contributory factors to monsoons failures, shortage of water and climate changes. Therefore it would be useful if a comprehensive project is prepared by professionals to carry out islandwide planting. This could be commenced just before and during the next monsoon and thereafter seasonally carried out. It would be possible to get foreign aid for such a program. The services of the armed forces too could be utilised along with unemployed persons. (b) Police Almost at every important junction on the public highway in Colombo, there are traffic lights installed. But during peak hours the Police are there at these junctions directing traffic. Indiscipline of the motorists as well as the large numbers of pedestrians on the highway, have been the cause for so many accidents which could have been averted. There are so many qualified youths, who have the basic qualifications to enter the public service. Some of them with good physique could be selected to a lower grade in the Police force to be kept on eight hour duty at pedestrian crossings, which would also serve to training and discipline them to be alter promoted to the higher grade of the Police service. By this process, experienced members of the Police could be utilised for more important work. (a) Public service, teachers Large numbers of young mothers are in the public services and teaching professions. Due to want of proper day care centres at affordable rates, these mothers are compelled to go on no-pay, half-pay in order to remain with their infant children in times of need. it is because of the love and attention of the mother during the formative years, that Sri Lanka continues to preserve its culture and the young look after the elders and there is extended family support. But there is now a tendency to move away from that culture. No pay leave up to about 5 year can be given to these mothers who voluntarily opt for such leave. During this period those qualified to enter the public service can be given temporary appointments. With the retirements etc. eventually these temporary appointees will be gradually absorbed into the vacancies in the permanent cadre. Especially in the case of teachers, this idea should receive serious consideration. Because by irregular attendance of the teachers, students are badly affected and the lost years will never come back to the students. S. THAMBIRAJAH , In the past the De Mel Park has been utilised as a ground for political rallies particularly left parties such as LSSP, CP, NSSP and Trade Union movements. Annually May Day rallies are being conducted in this children's park and during the years this children's park became neglected and was a ground more for undesirables who use this park for unwanted activities. Today we see a completely rehabilitated children's park with a jumbo elephant and house on top of a tree, matslides with a minmedura and number of other fixtures, which has become a highly patronised children's park serving not only Slave Island but also from Colombo North and Borella. This children's park together with children's park at Havelock town has become a site of entertainment and leisure for children and parents. I must congratulate the Mayor and Deputy Mayor and the Council staff for having established such children's parks which have become landmarks in the city of Colombo. A. M. M. THAWUS , Management fees of RPCs irrational When I read the above headline, which appeared in the Business pages (CDN, Jan. 7) I was somewhat perplexed particularly as it came from one of the High Priests (ADB) who advocates privatisation as the panacea for all ills in the economy. So, the word used being very harsh, I looked into the dictionary to see whether there is any mild reference to this word but found unreasonable, illogical, absurd, not endowed with reason.... instead. These management fees, amounting to over 10% of the turn-over is worked out not on actual turnover but on an inflated estimate. The modus operandi is to have a high estimate, which is much beyond the potential and the turnover is reckoned, again, on an inflated sale average, which can never be achieved. To illustrate it further, the management fees of an estate for the month of December 2001 is reproduced here under. Estimated crop for December, 2001 95,500 kgs Estimated sales average Rs. 166.05 Management fees charged Rs. 1,585,778 Actual crop harvested 62710 kgs. Actual sales average Rs. 159.90 Management fees on the above basis Rs. 1,002,733 Overcharged Rs. 583,045 The above management fee is for a month for an estate of less than 500 hectares! A fair share of these management fees is for merrymaking of the top management, which includes foreign trips, entertainment and one company I know even paid liquor bills of the superintendents and assistant Superintendents! At the end of the financial year, the company declares a heavy loss, depriving the minor share-holder of a dividend. It is time that the golden share holder wakes up from its slumber and look into these nefarious activities of the RPCs. K.A.P. DHARMARATNE, Show compassion to water bill defaulters The water services of some water consumers have been completely cut off due to non-payment of their arrears which are sometimes over 15,000 rupees. Such people have failed to settle their monthly water charges due to various reasons which finally ended up in such big amounts. Let by gones be by gones. Though, nature's gift of water is sold to man in litres. Can these consumers be left out without water services for them to suffer forever. Presently, such people are helped by kind neighbours and in many cases they make use of the wayside taps. Therefore, I request the present administration of the Water Board to consider the following suggestion as part of the 100 day program of the Government. By considering in a humane way of providing the services to such defaulted consumers the Water Board will not lose anything, instead some form of revenue could be collected. 1. To give them their water re-connection and to charge them 250 rupees from the due arrears together with their monthly bill. 2. If they fail to settle in such a manner continuously for three months, their services to be disconnected with no more sympathy. 3. However, if they make the payment of the new arrears of the three months together with the water bill of the fourth month, their supply to be given with interests calculated for the delayed arrears. NAZLY CASSIM , As a long standing ratepayer of the City of Colombo, let me reiterate the position that the need of the hour is not an abattoir, but prioritywise, to attend to more important areas of neglect within the city. A big sum of Rs. 243 million is to be dumped on this miserable project with Dutch aid. Why not re-negotiate with the Dutch government to utilize this money to have a project to relieve the power crisis existent today. I am confident if approached through proper channels the Dutch government will respond positively. Surely this is food for thought for our ex-Mayor of Colombo who is also presently the Minister for Power and Energy. As for the abattoir, this horrendous project must be shelved by the CMC after taking into consideration the protests so far made by the public on absolutely justifiable grounds. M. I. GUNEWARDENE, The news report published in the Daily News recently has disclosed that "cancer accounts for 11.5% deaths in Sri Lanka". It is also said that, in addition to the Cancer Hospital at Maharagama, facilities for treatment are available in Galle, Kandy, Anuradhapura and Jaffna hospitals to combat the lethal disease. Public have been warned to undergo regular check-ups, at least once in six months, as a precautionary measure to avoid untimely death. Since cancer has become a common disease today, and worse than other lethal diseases, it is high time to make a medical check-up at random to ascertain the risk of being positive, and seek treatment if necessary. ARYADASA RATNASINGHE A lady telephoned me about six months ago, inquiring where she could send ducks that she had saved from slaughter. As we had no provision within our Humanitarian Society to keep ducks, we suggested that she put them into the Kandy lake. I used to see the ducks in the lake when I take my early morning walk, swimming in the area where people feed fish in the lake throwing handfuls of 'Pori', near the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. To my surprise, two ducks had disappeared before Christmas, and there was only one remaining that had grown quite plump by eating fish in the lake - she used to 'Quack', 'Quack', whenever I passed this place as if to show that she is lucky to be there, as her companions had apparently been stolen and devoured. About a week ago to my horror the lone duck had also disappeared, obviously stolen and sold for flesh. What struck me most was how many such animals must have been killed and devoured. I would also like to state that now not a single tortoise is seen in the waters of the Kandy lake. There were many thousands of them a few years ago, specially in the moat round the Maligawa. Maybe they have been stolen and sold to the nearby hotels for turtle soup which is considered a delicacy. This clearly shows how wicked human beings can be. DR. C. GODAMUNNE , Some people say that S. L. Gunasekera has published a 'devastating' criticism of the current ceasefire agreement. I read it carefully. In the course of this criticism legal luminary Mr. SLG, for whom evidently illegality is the worst of all evils, accuses Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of attempting (uniquely) to follow a particular teaching of Jesus Christ. Mr. SLG might have gone further and indicted the Prime Minister for also taking seriously a teaching of the Compassionate Buddha on hatred which is enshrined in the Dhammapada and elaborated in the Maha Vagga. The Buddha and Jesus represent humanity's ultimate repositories of ethical wisdom. The Prime Minister cannot be unaware that voters do not forgive political leaders on the ground that they know not what they are doing. His emotional intelligence must be telling him that there are worse ways of coming to grief than acting in consonance with the spirit of the teachings of the Buddha and Jesus. For sheer power of mind the Buddha was peerless. As to Jesus, H.G. Wells was precisely right when he said of him: "Either there was something mad about this man, or our hearts are still too small for what he was trying to say." The Buddha and Jesus do not inspire political animals like me struggling for survival in the short run. For us "tit for tat" is the worldly wise strategy. Concerning our collective fate in the long run, the last word has been famously said by John Maynard Keynes. CARLO FONSEKA , People gave a clear mandate to UNP led United National Front to rule this country towards welfare of the people. UNP officially announced that it would not use polythene in campaigns in future elections. But Colombo streets are decorated by the UNP candidates themselves using polythene for the forthcoming Local Government elections. Does not the membership want to keep the promise of the leadership? M. AZMY SALIH , I must thank my senior B. Donald Perera of Panadura who has taken the trouble to produce an article in the Observer of January 20, 2002, about sets of brothers who resided in the Ananda College Hostel during he period 1935 to 1945. I attended Ananda College and was a resident of the Hostel in the period May 1947 to December 1956. The purpose of this article is to record the sets of brothers who were resident in the Hostel during the above period. Nimal Abayawardana, Educationist, and his two brothers Ananda and late Punya from Dekatana. General Hamilton Wanasingha his late brother P and Leonard from Malwana. General Wanasingha was the first Anandian to command the Sri Lanka Army. There were the de Silva brothers, T.H, Dr. D.R. and P.K. The Jirasinghe brothers, Donald, Birtie and Lakdas. Lakdas is an Engineer/Ministry Secretary. K.A. Ariyapala and Dharmapala de Silva from Beliatte. The Siriwardana brothers from Dondra, Mahinda, Wimal and M.H.S.K, a Chartered Accountant and was attached to the IMF, B.M.D. and late Dr. B.M.A. Balasooriya a highly qualified Civil Engineer who has been most helpful in most building projects undertaken by the College during the last few decades. W.A. Perera and his brother Dr. W.D.H. Perera the well-known Dermatologist. Dr. P.D. Gunatilleke Professor/ former Vice Chancellor of the Open University of Sri Lanka and Dr. Percy Karunatileke Consultant Gynaecologist resident in New Zealand. Upali and Mahinda Abeywardana - University Registrar. The late Chandraguptha and Asoka Subasinghe from Sandalankawa. Late Vinodhan Herath Gunaratne and his younger brother Pushpakumara. Next generation of Herath Gunaratnes from Galmuruwa Madamape referred to in the previous article. M. Leelaratne Yahampath - Company Secretary and late Kumarasiri Yahampath. Linton Wijesuriya retired Director General of Irrigation/Ministry Secretary and Lionel Wijesuriya - Surgeon. S.G. Punchihewa Accountant Engineering Corporation and M.G. Punchihewa of Ahangama. The Mannakkara brothers, S.G, V.S, D.T. and J.V. C.P Masingha, H.B. Masingha, formerly of the B.O.I and B.B. Masingha of Wadduwa. General Rohan de S. Daluwatte head of the Sri Lanka Army and Pinsiri de S. Daluwatte. N.C.D.G.S. and Dr. N.C.D.M. Gunasekera of Bentota. The late H.A. Hemachandra and H.A. Jayasiri - Businessman of Yakkala. Asoka and Manohara Jayatilleke. The Nanayakkara brothers, K.K., B.K., K.C.K. - Chartered Accountant. B.D. Dharmasiri and B.D. Chandrasiri. Ananda and Nimal Pathirana from Kithulgala. Lete Dudley Abeysiriwardana and Eric Abeysiriwardana - Chartered Accountant. Wimal and Rnjith Wittachy of Kalutara. Ransin and Chandrin de Silva of Ambalangoda. The four Jayaweera brothers, A.H., P, W and O. Hudson Perera and N.P.W. Perera. D.S. and J.S. Samarasekea. Asoka and Ananda Angammana. S.H. Hemapala and S.H. Chandrapala of Weligama. W and Sarath Atukorala of Kegalle. Late Sanath and Dr. Jagath Balasuriya - Member of Parliament. Dr. B.A.P. Karunaratne and B.A.C. Karunaratna. Raja and Percy Wijekoon. Pandula and Sarath Ginige. Prema and Mettananda Wijesundera. N. and W. Kottachi. Y.K. and P.D. Jayasekera. Punderika and Neil Perera. Late Priya popular racing car driver and Ananda Munasingha - Member of Parliament. The two sons of Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Rajapakse, Suraj and Saroj have to be included in this list. Mr. Rajapakse was the warden of the Hostel during the major part of the above period. I apologize for any omissions in compiling this list and wish that one of my Juniors makes another list for a future period. Tilak. M. Ediriwira, |
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